A Twisted Love Story
by Selphie Ivy
Summary: A love story... with a difference. Lots of love triangles and plot twists. Please R&R.
1. Introducing Everyone

A Twisted Love Story

**Hi guys! This is my first real fan fic story, so please be nice! I'll warn you now that this story is going to contain many love triangles and unusual pairings, so don't expect all the couples to end up happily together-you'll just have to see what happens! Please R&R! **

**Disclaimer-I don't own Final Fantasy 8, believe it or not! **

Chapter 1

"Hi Zell"

Zell managed to glance up long enough from his hotdogs to see Selphie, bouncing over to him.

"Hi Selphie, how are you?"

"I'm great, as usual"

But Zell couldn't help noticing that a shadow of sadness crossed over her face as she said this. He put down his hotdog-only Selphie could make him concerned enough to stop eating.

Selphie picked on a loose thread on one of her favourite yellow jumpers.

"Well…actually"

"Yeah" said Zell, leaning over to hear her better, his hotdogs lay, abandoned.

"Well, me and Irvine…"

"Have you fallen out?"

"No…it's just he's always flirting with other girls. It makes me so mad, but I still have to pretend to be happy, because that's what people expect from me"

"Is he seeing someone else? Have you broken up?"

Selphie's eyes grew wide. She looked as though she was about to cry. Zell could kick himself for asking such stupid questions. Selphie shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"No, we haven't broken up, but, I dunno…we've been dating so long, but lately he seems to have fallen in love-but with someone else. He never really pays much attention to me any more, and he's even been flirting less with other girls.

Something's wrong, Zell, I know it!"

She began to sob. Zell stared, dismayed, he was useless in this type of situation. Slowly, he reached across the table and managed to grab Selphie's hand.

"It's ok, Selph, couples always go through a bad patch"

"Really?" Selphie raised her head, staring into Zell's eyes. Zell nodded.

"Perhaps he's in love with you" Zell said, hoping to cheer her up.

"I dunno about that" Selphie replied, but her tears had stopped, and she was starting to cheer up again.

"Well, I hoped I helped"

Selphie nodded enthusiastically.

"Thanks Zelly!"

And she skipped out of the cafeteria. Zell shook his head. Selphie mood changed constantly-depressed one moment, happy the next. She had used to be happy all the time, but since she'd started seeing Irvine…

Zell shook his head again. He thought they were a cute couple, and Selphie did like Irvine a lot, and he did fancy her, didn't he?

Thoughts of couple got Zell thinking about who he liked. But he could never tell anyone.

She was beautiful, and Zell's stomach flipped every time he saw her. She was really nice, as well. She was not only gorgeous, but she was a lovely person, sweet and kind. She was also dating someone else.

"Ugh" Zell muttered under his breath. Not only was she seeing someone else, but they were in love, too. And she had never even noticed Zell as anything more than 'a friend.'

Just as he was dreaming of her, she and her boyfriend appeared opposite him. Zell managed to smile weakly.

"Hi Squall, hi Rinoa"

Squall nodded, but Rinoa was more open in her welcome

"Hey Zell!" she almost squealed, before placing her tray on the table and bouncing onto her seat.

Zell took a few moments to gaze at her beauty. Her hair, same as ever, was placed delicately around her face, the raven colour illuminating her creamy skin. She was wearing hardly any makeup today, but he face was so gorgeous, Zell thought, that she didn't need it. She was wearing her usual clothes, and the blue made her appear carefree and happy.

"Are you ok Zell? You look weird"

Zell jumped. He hadn't realised how he had been staring for about a minute at her.

"I'm fine" Zell's stomach was leaping about. He was so nervous talking to her. Squall was starring at him, too. Zell blushed, and returned to his cold hotdogs.

"Are you sure, you look really strange, perhaps you're ill"

"I'm fine, ok!" Zell almost shouted. He didn't know why he had almost yelled. He was mad at his life, he guessed. Mad that Squall had gotten Rinoa, and how they had fallen in love so easily. He was mad at himself for feeling this way. Squall and Rinoa were his friends.

Rinoa didn't reply. She bowed her head slightly and looked as though she was about to cry. The second girl Zell had made cry today. Fantastic, he thought to himself. Why don't I just go to find Quistis, make her upset, too, make it a hat-trick. He was useless at comforting people, and he was also bad at controlling his emotions.

Rinoa had her head bowed down. Squall was still staring at Zell, almost in disbelief. Zell turned around and left the cafeteria, as well as an upset Rinoa and silent Squall.

Quistis was having a good morning. She had got up at 6:30 sharp, and had proceeded to spend 30 minutes doing her exercises. She had then had a shower, brushed her teeth, washed her face and dressed. She had then styled her hair before applying her makeup and going to breakfast. The cafeteria had been mostly quiet. Even though it was nearly eight, many were still in bed. She had eaten breakfast alone, and now she was making her way back to her room, to study.

Her leisurely walk through Balamb Garden, however, was disrupted by a tall, blonde male.

"Hello, Trepe" Seifer said, smirking

Quistis frowned slightly at him, tilting her head to one side.

"What are you doing, Seifer?"

"Just having a morning stroll through the gardens, what does it look like?"

"You're up to something, I can tell"

"No, I'm not, actually,"

Quistis continued to watch him, her eyes narrowed slightly. Seifer was still smirking.

"You're always up to something, Seifer"

"Nope, just having a leisurely walk, admiring the beauty of…stuff" He waved his arms, gesturing vaguely around at their surroundings.

Seifer winked in Quistis' direction. She rolled her eyes.

"You're going to give in one day, Trepe, give in to my masculine charms"

Quistis rolled her eyes again, and turned on her heel and walked off, Seifer still smirking behind her. She turned around the corner, out of Seifer's sight.

"Honestly!" she muttered, leaning against the wall. She had to admit, though, she did like Seifer, even if he was arrogant and selfish. He could be kind, she knew it. She made sure that he had another chance in Balamb in the first place. He had come back. And she had strong feelings for him, which she couldn't seem to get rid of.

She shook her head. Daydreaming about Seifer was no good. They would never go out together. Composing herself, she continued down the corridor, still thinking about Seifer when she nearly collided with…

"Irvine!" she cried out as she nearly knocked him to the floor.

"No worries, Quistis," he smiled at her, and tipped his cowboy hat "No lasting damage done"

Irvine had joined Balamb, and hung around in their group, which included Squall, Rinoa, Zell, Selphie, Irvine, and herself. Irvine and Selphie had been dating for a few months now, and they had always seemed fairly happy together.

"What are you doing, nobody else seems to be up"

"Oh, just having a walk, bout to go to the cafeteria, actually"

"Oh, well, see you around then" Quistis smiled at Irvine and continued on her way, back to her room.

Irvine, however, was staring at Quistis as she walked away. He watched her golden blonde hair, tied tightly back as usual, with two long strips hanging loosely, and framing her beautiful face. Irvine sighed. He loved her face, her smile. When she smiled, her whole face beamed and her face was lit up with joy. He wanted to hold that face, and stare into her eyes and kiss her lips more than anything in the world.

Irvine had no idea why he felt that why, but he had always fancied Quistis, from the moment he saw her. Now that they were spending more time together, his feelings for her had gotten stronger, and he realised that he had fallen in love.

Irvine sighed. Love was so complicated. He was dating Selphie, and he liked Selphie, but with her, his feelings of friendship were stronger than his romantic feelings for her. He fancied her, yes, but loved her? No. But he did love Quistis, yet everyone knew that she had feelings for Seifer. Irvine bowed his head, and continued walking.

He and Quistis would never happen.

**Hope you enjoyed, as you can see, I'm really messing with the characters in this! I guess its fun writing about love triangles! I enjoy it! Anyways, R&R please and I'll get the next chapter out as soon as possible! **

**Selphie Ivy x**


	2. Dating

A Twisted Love Story

**Hi guys! Thought I'd just slip in another chapter so please R&R, I love reviewers! Enjoy:) **

**Disclaimer; Nope, I really don't own it**

Chapter 2

"May I take your order?" A young waiter was standing over Selphie and Irvine, waiting.

"I'll have the stuffed pork, with extra tomatoes" Irvine decided

"And I'll have the vegetable lasagne, with extra chips please" Selphie said, handing back their menus.

"Coming up!" the waiter said, and swept off.

Selphie turned to Irvine.

"Isn't it nice that we can come out of dates to restaurants together?" she giggled, happily

"Umm" Irvine mumbled, agreeing. He was, however, thinking of someone completely different-a tall, blonde-haired someone, to be precise. Selphie was staring at him. He shook his head and forced himself to stop thinking about Quistis.

"Yeah, this is nice"

Selphie nodded happily. Then her face grew serious.

"We've been going out for a while now, Irvine, but there's something I need to tell you"

Irvine shifted in his seat uncomfortably. Was Selphie going to break up with him? Did that mean he could confess his love to Quistis?

"I…I think I love you, Irvine"

Irvine's heart sunk. He didn't feel the same way, but Selphie was looking at him with her eyes large and staring. He had to say something.

"I…um…I love you, too" Irvine said, quickly casting his face down. He couldn't stand lying to her.

Selphie didn't say anything else. She was surprised that Irvine loved her back…but did he? He hadn't sounded very enthusiastic, but then, neither had she. She didn't actually think that she was in love with Irvine, but she liked him a lot, and she needed to know if he was actually interested in her at all.

She sighed silently. Soon after, the meals arrived. Irvine and Selphie didn't speak all through dinner. They were both lost in their own thoughts.

Zell was shadow boxing in his room. He had calmed down from earlier, and was now trying to get up the nerve to visit Rinoa and apologise. Taking a big breath, he prepared himself and decided to try to find Rinoa-she was probably in her room, or with Squall.

He crossed his room, and had his hand on the door handle when suddenly he heard someone outside, knocking. He peered out of the door peephole. Oh God! It was Rinoa!

Steeling himself, he opened the door. Rinoa was standing there, looking gorgeous as ever. Zell's stomach twisted. She opened her mouth to speak, but Zell cut in first.

"Rinoa, I'm so, so sorry about this morning, I was an idiot, do you forgive me?"

"Of course I forgive you, Zell"

And then she stepped towards him and hugged him. Zell felt her warmth, and held her tighter. He held her longer than was necessary, but she didn't back away. Eventually, they both let go, and Rinoa stepped only a few inches away, so that she and Zell were still really close.

"Thank you, Zell" she whispered, and Zell suddenly had a maddening urge to kiss her. She looked so perfect. He battle with himself, but before he had chance to decide, Rinoa had turned and said goodbye, waving as she walked back down the corridor.

Zell hung his head. At least he had made up to Rinoa, but he was still as depressed as ever over her. Sighing, he stepped back inside his room and shut the door.

Quistis was in the cafeteria, yet she wasn't actually eating anything. She was sat, staring sadly into her food. She was busy thinking of Seifer. However much she disliked him-she couldn't help loving him. She hung her head. What was she going to do?

Right then, Squall joined her.

"Are you ok?" Squall asked

Quistis tried to clear her mind and focus on Squall. She couldn't let anyone know that Seifer was affecting her like this.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking"

"Oh"

"Where's Rinoa?"

"Oh, she's gone to visit Zell and make up after the argument they had earlier"

"Oh, I see," Quistis paused for a second "How are you and her?"

Squall raised his eyes and looked directly at Quistis. Squall was hard to read, but Quistis could swear that he was almost smiling. His relationship with Rinoa had changed him a lot.

"We're great, in fact…"

Squall leant in, so only he and Quistis could hear

"I'm going to propose"

"Wow, congratulations!" Quistis beamed at Squall, and he blushed slightly

"Just don't tell anyone, I'm going to do it tomorrow night, at her favourite restaurant, the blue dragon"

Quistis nodded

"I'll keep it secret, you can trust me"

Squall nodded. His normal serious face now had a different look to it, almost as if he were…

"Squall, are you nervous about proposing to Rinoa?"

Squall stared into Quistis' eyes for a moment, and then finally nodded.

"You don't need to be, Rinoa will say yes. You two are in love, for real…"

Quistis sighed, and her sentence trailed off. Squall was staring at her.

"What's wrong?" he asked

"Oh, just couples, in love… I mean, you and Rinoa are getting engaged, and Irvine and Selphie are dating," She looked Squall dead in the eye. She had to ask someone, she had to know, and Squall was probably the best…

"Do you think me and Seifer would go well together?" she blurted out

Squall stared. The combined nervous pressure of proposing and Quistis asking him a crazy question about her and Seifer dating was starting to get to him.

"Um, I dunno, Quistis,

He glanced at his watch.

"I've got to go" he mumbled, and sped off without a backwards glance, leaving Quistis sat alone.

Quistis lowered her head.

"Seifer…" she mumbled

"Hello, Trepe"

Quistis jumped. Seifer had joined her, and was sitting in the seat which a few seconds ago had been Squall's.

"Seifer, what…"

Seifer shook his head

"Just wanted to ask you on a friendly date, if you can handle it, Trepe"

Quistis' heart missed a beat, unsure that Seifer had said what she thought

"Pardon"

Seifer laughed

"Do you want to go on a date, answer quickly; the offer will be gone soon"

Quistis stared into his face, trying to see if he was joking. He was wearing his usual smirk, but apart from that, looked serious enough.

"Um" Quistis stammered. What was wrong with her?

"It's settled then, I'll pick you up from your room tomorrow night, around 7:30. I'll take you out"

And without another word, he stood up and swept out of the cafeteria, his grey coat swinging behind him, leaving Quistis in a stunned, but joyous silence.

**Well guys, there we go. Please R&R, I'll really appreciate it! **

**Selphie Ivy**


	3. Preparations

A Twisted Love Story

Chapter 3

Squall had slept badly. He was really nervous about proposing to Rinoa. What if she turned him down, after he had let her get to him, made him care about her? Before, he had made sure that he didn't let anyone get close to him. Then, he couldn't get hurt. But he loved her, and he needed her. But did she really need him?

Squall's head was hurting from thinking so much. He was going over what Quistis had said about her and Seifer. Did she really like him?

Squall turned back over, and glanced at his alarm clock. 10:30. He rarely slept in so late. Quickly, he got up and started to dress. Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Hi Squally" Rinoa bounced into Squall's room, the moment he answered it, ignoring the fact that he was halfway through changing.

"Hi Rinoa," Squall replied "did you talk to Zell?"

"Yeah, I did. He apologised, but something is definitely up with him. I'll find out what, though"

Rinoa giggled again, and hugged Squall, before kissing him, taking him by surprise. Squall smiled down at her, and knew that she wouldn't say no to his proposal…she wouldn't…she couldn't. And before he knew it, his initial nervousness had returned.

"Zell, are you awake?" Selphie banged on Zell's door. She had been there for around 5 minutes, but still Zell would not answer his door. She knew he was in there, as he hadn't been eating in the cafeteria that morning. Suddenly, the door was flung open.

"Why are you still in bed?" Selphie asked, placing her hands on her waist

"Oh, I've just been thinking, having a lie-in" Zell had spent the morning lying in bed, thinking about Rinoa.

"Well, I've been knocking on your door for ages"

"Sorry Selph, do you wanna come in?" Zell asked. Selphie, however, had already bounced into Zell's room.

"How did your date with Irvine go?" Zell asked, shutting the door behind Selphie.

"Oh, it was…ok" Selphie replied, taking a seat on Zell's bed, and glancing around his room. Zell's room was a mess. Clothes, books and magazines were strewn about on the floor, and his bed wasn't made. Selphie didn't mind, though. Zell's room was comfortable to her, and she always felt happy when she was inside. Perhaps it was because it reminded her of Zell so much.

"What do you mean by ok?" Zell asked, taking a seat beside Selphie on his bed.

Selphie looked into Zell's eyes. He was one of her best friends, and she told him everything.

"Well, I sort of told Irvine I love him"

"Oh. And did he say it back"

Selphie fidgeted, her eyes roaming Zell's room

"Sort of" Selphie said

"Oh"

"Oh, Zell," Selphie suddenly burst into huge sobs and fell into Zell's arms "I think… he loves… someone else" she wailed through her sobs.

Zell patted her back awkwardly. He was useless at comforting people, but Selphie was his friend, and she needed help, so he held her in his arms and waited for her sobs to die down slightly.

"Don't worry, Selph," he reassured her "We can find out the truth if we work together"

"Thanks, Zell, thanks for listening," Selphie had stopped crying, but her eyes were still quite red "I really must be going. I have the garden festival committee later"

Zell nodded. Selphie walked towards the door, opened it and walked out, giving Zell a wave and small smile as she went. Zell was still thinking of Rinoa, but comforting his friend had taken his mind off her for a while, and now he had a new task-to discover if Irvine was cheating on Selphie. He smiled to himself, and lay back down on his bed. He had helped Selphie, but Selphie had also helped him, just by being with him-he felt a lot happier. Smiling slightly, he slowly drifted back to sleep.

Irvine was thinking of Quistis. He had been lying, fully-dressed, on his bed for a few hours now. He had woken up early and had not been able to get back to sleep, so he had dressed, but could not be bothered to go anywhere, not even the cafeteria. A sudden knock on the door distracted Irvine from his thoughts of Quistis. He got up and answered the door.

"Hi, Irvine" Quistis' face appeared at his door. Irvine could feel his heart hammering.

"I've got some big news!" Quistis was grinning, her usual serious face forgotten in her joy

"Great, come in" Irvine gestured into his room. His whole body was numb, and he found himself praying that the good news was that she had decided that she was in love with him. Irvine sat on the bed and Quistis sat beside him, almost bouncing with excitement, although she managed to contain herself better than Rinoa or Selphie might.

"Seifer asked me on a date" Quistis said. Irvine's heart dropped. He felt as though he could cry, but instead forced his face into a smile.

"Great for you, but I thought you didn't like Seifer. He is pretty arrogant"

Quistis nodded, but she was still smiling

"But don't you think we would make a good couple?" she asked him

Irvine had never really thought about Quistis and Seifer as good couple material. Rinoa and Squall were good couple material…but Quistis with Seifer…

"Um, I guess so" Irvine's words choked in his throat, but Quistis was so excited, she didn't even seem to notice.

"Irvine, you have to help me prepare for tomorrow, that's our date!"

Irvine thought he would faint. Quistis dating someone else was bad enough. It was made worse by the fact that it was Seifer, but having to help Quistis prepare for a date with Seifer was almost unbearable.

"Isn't there, um, someone else?" Irvine asked. Perhaps it wasn't so bad…she had chosen him, out of all of their group-including the girls- to help her prepare. If she wasn't going on a date with another guy, he could have sworn that she wanted to spend time with him.

"Um, well, Rinoa and Squall are going out to a restaurant, Selphie is at the garden festival committee, and Zell seems to have locked himself in his room"

"Oh, so I was your last choice, I was picked because everyone else was busy?" It came out of Irvine's mouth before he could stop it, and it sounded a lot harsher than he had expected. Quistis looked taken aback and upset.

"No, actually, you were my first choice, well, my first male choice. Girls like getting ready with other girls normally, but since Rinoa and Selphie were both busy, I thought you would be the best choice," she paused "But obviously, you don't want to…it doesn't matter…" she began to rise to walk out, but Irvine stopped her.

"I'm sorry; I just didn't expect you to choose me"

Quistis softened.

"That's ok, so will you help?"

Irvine nodded. Spending time with Quistis was precious to him, even if it was making her look nice for Seifer…

"Thanks, Irvine. I knew I could rely on you"

Irvine simply nodded. He couldn't speak. Quistis smiled and strode to the door.

"Can you come to my room, around 6:30; Seifer is picking me up around 7:30, ok"

Irvine nodded again. Quistis smiled at him before closing his door with a faint click. The moment she was gone, he fell back onto his bed like before, only this time, tears flowed silently down his face.

**Thanks for reading! I'm getting very few reviews compared to hits, so if you want me to continue, please review, otherwise I won't bother to update. Just please spend a moment telling me what you think! Thanks!**

**Love you all,**

**Selphie Ivy xx**


	4. Proposals and other disasters

A Twisted Love Story

**Yay! Reviewers I love you! Thanks Lyedmeh, Sidalee and tigerlilyleonhart! And it's because of you this next chapter is up! Enjoy!**

Chapter 4

"Do you think he'll like this?" Quistis spun around, her dress flowing around her ankles.

Irvine could only stare. He couldn't trust himself to open his mouth, or he didn't know what would come out. He would probably end up cursing Seifer, or admitting his love to Quistis. Right now, she was happy preparing for her date and Irvine couldn't stand to hurt her, even if it did mean he felt as though he was about to breakdown with grief. Why did he feel like this?

"Irvine?" Quistis was watching him carefully

"Yeah"

"Does this make me look fat?"

"Fat! You're lovely and slim…and beautiful…and …and…" Irvine struggled for words. Quistis was staring.

"You look gorgeous, Quistis. Seifer is very lucky"

_And he doesn't deserve you_ Irvine thought silently. Just then, there was a knock on the door. Quistis hurried to answer it.

"Seifer, just a moment" Quistis backed into the room, stepped towards Irvine and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you, Irvine. You kept me calm, preparing for this" she whispered

"You're always calm" Irvine commented. God, he was such an idiot, saying something that stupid. Normally he was so charming, but not around Quistis.

Quistis simply smiled, and joined Seifer at the door. She shot Irvine one last smile and disappeared, the door clicking behind her.

Irvine lay down on Quistis' bed. He could smell peaches. He only meant to rest for a moment, but the bed was so comforting, that Irvine fell asleep within moments, his head resting on Quistis' pillow.

* * *

"Where are you taking me, Seifer?" Quistis asked 

"Somewhere great, you'll see. A place called the blue dragon. Wonderful food" Seifer smiled down at Quistis.

Even though it was probably the friendliest gesture Quistis had ever seen him do, it looked painful, as though he didn't smile a lot and wasn't used to it. Quistis smiled back anyway, although the restaurant rang a bell in the back of her mind. She could have sworn that she had heard someone mention it before, although she couldn't remember properly

Then, Seifer put his arm around her, and she forgot about everything else.

* * *

Squall twisted nervously in his seat. He was sweating, and he was sure that Rinoa would notice that something was wrong. He had been nervous and clammy all evening. 

The thought of proposing was far worse than any of the of the other seeD missions he had gone on. Battling with Seifer-easy. Fighting Ultimecia-piece of cake. Proposing-Impossible. Baring his soul to someone, even if he loved Rinoa, was an extremely difficult thing for him to do. And what if she turned him down…what if she laughed at him? What if she left him? What if she went back to Seifer? What if she…

"Squall?"

Squall raised his head, and tried to force his face into something that looked normal. He must have failed miserably, as Rinoa looked startled. It occurred to him that his eyes were bulging and his teeth were gritted. It must have looked possessed or something.

"Um, Squall, are you ok, only you haven't spoken for, like, 20 minutes" Rinoa was staring at him, a concerned look on her face

Squall nodded, and closed his eyes. He thought he was about to faint. He realised that now was the time to propose. Rinoa had almost finished her strawberry cheesecake, and Squall needed to ask her…

"Rinoa, we've been…dating for a, um, little while now…and, um, so we are…"

Squall stammered through his speech. Rinoa was staring. She'd never seen him like this.

Squall opened his mouth to begin the next line in his already disastrous speech, when two familiar characters walked into the restaurant.

Squall couldn't believe his eyes. He stared and stared until Rinoa, too, glanced around to see what he was looking at.

Seifer and Quistis had arrived on their date. This settled it. No way was he proposing if Seifer was in the same room. End of story. He felt as though the whole evening had been a failure.

Meanwhile, Quistis had spotted Squall and Rinoa, and given them a friendly wave. She was surprised at first to see them there, but then she remembered that Squall had told her that he and Rinoa would be dining there that same night. She had enough time to wave, before she and Seifer were shown to their seats. She sat down, and prayed that the date would go well. Seifer was well known for being…unpredictable.

Rinoa turned back to Squall.

"Quistis and Seifer, who would have thought? I mean, I knew that she liked him, but I never thought that they would actually date"

Squall simply nodded. He was too shocked to do anything else. Finally, he got up the courage to say something.

"Can I have the bill, please" he asked a passing waiter. Squall needed to get out of here, even if it did mean his proposal being ruined. He paid the bill, Rinoa gave Quistis one last wave, and they were off, failure ringing in Squall's ears.

* * *

"Zell, I know you're in there, open up!" Selphie banged her fists against Zell's door. What was with Zell lately? He hadn't come out of his room for ages. Annoyed, Selphie turned on her heel and started to storm off.

"Selphie, Wait!"

Zell had finally opened his door.

"About time, as well…" Selphie spun around, but stopped scolding him when she saw what he looked like.

It seemed as though Zell had spent days doing nothing. The only thing he was wearing was a pair of boxer shorts. His hair hung limply around his face, he obviously hadn't bothered to gel it. His looked tired and depressed, and he was slouching. But the thing that worried Selphie most was that he just wasn't Zell.

Zell was usually bouncing around, shadow boxing and being full of energy. The Zell that stood before her looked awful, as if he hadn't bothered to eat for a while.

"Zell, what's wrong?" Selphie asked

Zell only shook his head. Selphie could hear voices coming down the corridor, although Zell seemed completely oblivious to this. His eyes were downcast, staring at the floor.

Selphie acted on impulse, rushing across and tugging Zell back into his room. She didn't want anyone to see him this way.

Inside Zell's room was just as bad. Although Zell was normally quite messy, he was clean and always cleared up a bit if it got really bad. Zell's room at the moment however, was a tip.

Empty drinks bottles and food wrappers lay scattered on the floor. Zell's clothes were lying around in heaps. His bed was unmade. Selphie stared around at his room. She pulled Zell over to his bed, and made him sit down. He sat without question.

"Zell, what's wrong" Selphie asked

"Problems…just problems" Zell muttered, his eyes still downcast.

Selphie knew that this was the best she was going to get from him. When Zell was like this, he was very vague. Instead of attempting to question him further, she put an arm around him.

"It's ok, Zell" she whispered

Zell was starting to come to his senses. All he could think about lately was Rinoa. This had made him very depressed, and he had sat on his bed for a while, too depressed to come out or see anyone. He had eaten, but only a little. His feelings for Rinoa were getting stronger. He didn't even know if he could control himself around her. He only let Selphie in because she was one of his best friends…and she had kept banging on his door.

Suddenly, he realised that Selphie's arm was around him. He glanced down at her, and her eyes glittered as she smiled at him.

Seeing Selphie gave him a little strength, although he had no idea why. Perhaps it was because she was so upbeat and positive.

"Zell, why don't you clean yourself up a bit?" Selphie suggested "whenever I feel bad, I like to change my clothes and tidy my room up a bit"

Zell nodded, blushing slightly. Selphie must think he was a right slob. He stood up and walked into his personal bathroom. He closed the door, turned the shower on and climbed in, pulling off his boxers. He washed his hair and body, and steeped out feeling a lot better.

He now, however, had a problem. His clothes were in his room, piled up in heaps. All he had on was a towel. He really didn't want to step back into his room and start searching for something wearable with Selphie there. Sure, they were close friends, but that would just be embarrassing.

He slowly opened the door, and stuck his head out, hoping to find a solution. Selphie was stood right by the entrance of the bathroom door. She had obviously been waiting for him to finish.

"Here you go" she said brightly, holding out a folded pile of clothes. Zell thanked her, and shut the door. Sometimes Selphie really surprised him. She obviously had thought about how Zell would have needed to go hunting around for clothes in his room, wrapped only in a towel, and she had solved his problem, and saved him the embarrassment.

He unfolded the clothes she had given him, and was surprised to find that she had picked out some of his favourite clothes, other than his usual outfit. He had his favourite black T-shirt, and loose blue jeans, and they were both clean. She had also included some socks, shoes and even some hair gel.

"Selph, you are fantastic!" he murmured under his breath. Selphie really did know everything about him, and she was really thoughtful. He changed and walked out to thank Selphie again.

"Oh, it was nothing," she said, giggling "look what I've done to your room!"

Zell glance around, and saw that Selphie had also cleared up whilst he was in the shower. She had thrown the empty drinks bottles and wrappers in the bin, and put all his dirty clothes in the laundry basket. She had made his bed, and even managed to straighten the items on Zell's bedside cabinet, which included a picture of the whole gang, laughing and happy. Those had been much simpler times. He hadn't had feelings for Rinoa then.

"Selphie, thank you so much"

Selphie smiled.

"Well, I was worried about you"

Zell smiled at his friends concern.

"Thanks, Selph. Now, is there any other reason why you visited?"

Selphie's face twisted slightly, her face losing its smile.

"It's Irvine-I know he likes someone else. I said I loved him the other night at the restaurant, but he was all distant"

"Do you love him?" Zell asked

"I dunno…I guess"

"Well, I dunno about you, but I think that when you fall in love, you'll know it" Zell said, surprising himself as it slipped out of his mouth

"I guess so," Selphie paused for a moment "but if Irvine is in love with someone else, I want to know who"

Zell nodded. "I'll help, if I can" he promised.

"Thanks Zell, I'd better be going" Selphie hugged Zell tightly around his middle, before striding over to the door and leaving Zell in silence. Zell was going to help Selphie find out if Irvine was in love with someone else, and if he was…

Zell punched the inside of his hand. Nobody should dare to hurt Selphie, even if it did mean beating up one of his friends. Selphie should be loved by someone special, and if Irvine wasn't going to treat her right…

Zell's train of thought was cut off by a knock on his door. He crossed his room and opened it. Rinoa was stood there.

"Hi Zell, sorry it's a bit late. I just had a date with Squall…and…and I need to talk to someone"

She looked as gorgeous as ever. Her hair fell gracefully around her shoulders, and her chocolate eyes shone. She looked as though she was about to cry.

"Sure Rinoa, come in"

Zell stood aside to let her in. She walked slowly over to his bed and sat down. Zell closed the door and followed, his heart beating faster and faster, thanking hyne that Selphie had helped him tidy the room and himself up. If Rinoa had seen what his room looked like before, she probably would have been disgusted. 'No, she wouldn't' Zell reminded himself 'she's way too nice'

"What's wrong?" he asked her

"It's Squall," Rinoa said "he's been acting really strangely recently. We went out for a meal this evening, and he was really strange. He get twitching and glancing around. He couldn't even make eye contact with me. I think he's going to break up with me!" Rinoa started to sob, her raven hair cascading over her shoulders.

Zell moved closer, and put his arm around her. She continued to sob, and then lay her head on Zell's shoulder, still crying. Zell could feel her hair tickling his neck. He could smell her, too. He could smell a soft, musky fragrance.

"I like your perfume" Zell blurted out, before he realised what he was saying.

Rinoa suddenly stopped crying. She turned her tear-stained face to Zell, meeting his eyes. Zell couldn't help noticing that she still looked pretty, even when her eyes were red and her mascara was smudged from crying.

"I'm not wearing any perfume"

Zell's stomach gave another lurch. He didn't know what to do or say. Rinoa was still looking at him. She was close enough to kiss. Zell tried to take his mind off her. If he didn't, he knew that his instincts would take over, and he would kiss her. He briefly wondered why Rinoa had come to him, of their entire group. Rinoa was still watching him. She was so beautiful. Zell couldn't stand it anymore.

Forgetting the world around him, forgetting that Rinoa had a boyfriend whom she loved, and that she was his friend, and that she would never love him, or see him as more than a friend…

He leaned in and kissed her.

**Wow, this seems to go on forever! Didn't seem that long when I typed it up! Haha! Cliffhanger! If you want be to continue, please R&R! I am evil, but the next chapter should be up soon, so look out for it! Oh, and I am still working on 'A New Life' the next chapter for that will be out really soon, so don't worry! Love you all,**

**Selphie Ivy xx**


	5. Hiding the truth

A Twisted Love Story

**Disclaimer-I don't own Final Fantasy 8 **

Chapter 5

The second Zell leaned in, he realised that what he was doing was wrong. But it didn't stop his lips colliding awkwardly with hers. Zell tried to pull away, but it was too late.

Rinoa felt Zell's lips touch hers and jerked away, her eyes full of confusion.

"Zell what are you doing?" she asked.

Zell simply sat there, unable to answer. He couldn't believe that he had just done that. It seemed as though Rinoa wasn't very happy either.

She stood up, and strode out of the room. Zell just sat there, stunned.

What had he just done?

"Irvine"

Irvine woke to Quistis' soothing voice. He opened his eyes and found that she was sat next to him, and that he was lying in her bed.

"What happened? Why am I here?" Irvine asked sleepily

"You're in my room. You helped me prepare for my date with Seifer, remember? You must have fallen asleep on my bed"

"Oh. Sorry"

"No problem. The bed is quite comfy, isn't it?"

Irvine nodded, and then he decided he'd better ask how Quistis' date went, just for politeness

"So, how was your date?"

"It was…fantastic. Seifer took me to the blue dragon. We had a wonderful meal"

"Oh, sounds great"

"Yeah, it was," Quistis was grinning like a lovesick teenager, the complete opposite to her usual serious self "even Seifer was…well…nice"

"Really?" Irvine was surprised at this. Seifer was usually such a jerk. Irvine felt almost disappointed that Seifer had been so nice to Quistis. If they had had a bad date, Quistis wouldn't like Seifer so much, and Irvine himself may have had a shot.

Then Irvine felt guilty for thinking that way. As long as Quistis was happy…even if it wasn't with him, Irvine

"I'm glad you had a good time. What's the time?"

"Just past 6am"

"What!?"

Quistis shrugged.

"Seifer took me to a fancy club, and we danced and everything. I only just got in"

"Oh. Well, I'd better be going" Irvine stood up and strode to the door. His head was hurting.

Quistis turned just as he was leaving

"Irvine"

"Yes"

"Thanks…for everything" Irvine nodded, and closed the door. Knowing he had nothing else to do this early in the morning, he started to walk back to his dorm room. He arrived, opened the door, and was surprised to see Selphie sat on his bed, waiting for him.

"You're up early" he commented. Selphie usually loved her lie-ins. Selphie shrugged.

"I couldn't sleep, so I came to find you, but you'd gone" Selphie looked quite tired and almost sad. Irvine felt bad, as he'd obviously been neglecting her slightly lately, but it wasn't his fault that he liked someone else…

"Sorry Selph" Irvine walked over to his bed, and sat down next to Selphie, putting his arm around her. She leaned in and rested her head on his shoulder. He could feel her skin touching his neck. It felt nice, but he still felt as though he was comforting a friend, not a girlfriend.

"Irvy, do you like someone else?" Selphie mumbled, her voice very quiet.

Irvine fidgeted slightly. Was it that obvious? He didn't want to lead Selphie on, but he also didn't want to hurt her for no apparent reason. It would be stupid to break up with Selphie, and then be turned down by Quistis. He still had feelings for Selphie, but they weren't as strong anymore as they had been.

"No," Irvine replied "of course not, Selph. I like you" This wasn't a lie, he had just side-stepped her question. Selphie didn't seem completely happy about his answer but she nodded, and continued to rest her head on Irvine's strong shoulders until she decided she'd better be going.

"I'll see you later Irvine" she said. Irvine nodded.

"Sure. Bye, Selph"

"Bye, Irvy" Selphie closed the door behind her and closed her eyes, sighing. Irvine was definitely hiding something, although he wouldn't say what. Closing her eyes and thinking, Selphie decided the best thing to do now was to talk to one of her best friends about it. She opened her eyes and started walking to Zell's room.

Squall looked at his clock beside his bed. 7am. Squall couldn't sleep. He was still worrying about proposing to Rinoa. Horrible scenarios where she turned him down in plenty of different ways kept running through his head.

Squall couldn't believe that Quistis and Seifer had turned up in the very same restaurant where he was going to propose. What a horrible coincidence. Still, he wasn't going to just give up. He was a SeeD, and he was going to propose to Rinoa, even if every time he thought about it, he started to shake with fear.

When should he propose? Today? Tomorrow? Tonight? Squall thought for a while. Tonight seemed like the best option. Get it out of the way. Squall turned over in his bed and willed himself to sleep as he started to run over the proposal speech he was planning. Tonight, Rinoa would agree to marry him… Wouldn't she?

Rinoa was lying awake in her bed. What had happened? Why did Zell just try to kiss her? None of it made sense. Although…Zell had been acting strange recently. Had he developed a crush on her? None of this was right. She loved Squall, and he loved her. Didn't he?

And then the previous weeks came back. Zell was constantly nervous around her. She realised she had been stupid not to notice it before. When had her life become so complicated? And then there was Squall. Squall who had almost neglected her these last few weeks. He hardly spoke to her. It was like the Squall she first meet-constantly serious and unmoved by anything. They couldn't even go out to a meal and have a conversation like normal without Squall looking like he was possessed.

Rinoa sighed. She would worry about Squall and Zell later. She just wanted to sleep right now. She rolled over. Was she making a mistake? No way, she loved Squall. But…what if Squall didn't like her anymore? What if he was going to break up with her? Rinoa bolted upright in her bed, and tears started to flow down her cheeks. She had talked about it to Zell, but it was becoming more realistic everytime she thought about it. She couldn't lose Squall, not after everything they'd been through together.

Rinoa lay back down. After about an hour, she finally stopped crying and went to sleep. She didn't realise it then, but tomorrow was going to bring even more surprises, and she really needed the sleep to prepare herself for a chaotic day, for her, and everyone else…

**Well, hoped you liked that! It's a bit short, but I'm in the middle of my exams, and this is all the time I could spare. Appreciate the effort! Tee Hee! Anyway, you know what to do. R&R. And I'm sorry if the last line was cheesy, I couldn't think of anything else to put! If you like it, I'll keep writing. Once I finished my GCSEs, I'll have lots more time, so if I continue, you can expect more updates then!**

**Love you all, Selphie Ivy xx **


	6. The Truth

A Twisted Love Story

**Thanks to all my lovely reviewers! I meant to do a thank you list every 5****th**** chapter, but I forgot last time, so thanks to Amarant Rose Coral, Lyedmeh, Sidalee, strapps (tigerlilyleonhart), another opinion and CrazyTurkey for reviewing my last 5 chapters! I love you all! Now-enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FF8, I think it's obvious by now**

Chapter 6

"Selph?"

It seemed as though every time he opened his door, an upset Selphie or Rinoa was stood there.

"What's wrong, Selph?" Selphie was stood at Zell's door. She wasn't crying, but looked quite pale.

"Can I come in?" Selphie asked

Zell nodded, and held the door open for her. Selphie crossed the room and sat straight down on Zell's bed. She still wasn't crying, but she looked as though she may faint. Zell shut the door and joined her sitting on the bed. He put an arm around her, just as he had Rinoa, when he was comforting her. Selphie leant on his shoulder. Her hair tickled against Zell's neck.

"Irvine?" Zell asked, thinking he knew what was making Selphie look so upset

Selphie nodded, but she wasn't crying hysterically like she usually was when she came to Zell with her problems. Perhaps she was starting to cope better, Zell thought.

"I don't want to talk about Irvine. I like him a lot, but sometimes he's just…" Selphie shook her head. She still hadn't started crying.

"Anyway," said Selphie "What was up with you before? You still seem kind of upset. What's wrong?"

Zell shook his head, but he knew that he had to tell someone eventually, and Selphie was probably the best option. They were best friends, and she wouldn't judge him.

"Well, um…" Zell started. Where would he even begin? Selphie had separated from his shoulder and was looking at him, her eyes full of concern

"You can tell me, Zell. You've always been there for me"

Zell nodded. He opened his mouth…and began his long story. He told Selphie about his growing feelings for Rinoa, his nervousness every time he was around her, how he felt guilty about it. Selphie didn't interrupt. She sat unusually still, her arm still around Zell just as his arm was around her, nodding every so often when Zell paused for breath. He told her about how he hated himself for feeling that way, how he accidentally started neglecting his other friends, how he stayed in his room, how he desperately wanted to help her (Selphie) to figure out what's up with Irvine, but couldn't get over his feelings for Rinoa to help, how Rinoa had visited him, the kiss…

Once he had told Selphie everything, he closed his eyes and let out a sigh. He felt as though a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. When he opened his eyes, Selphie was staring at him with her eyes wide.

"Zell," she whispered "if you ever, ever have a problem like this again, please tell me. I can help you" and then she hugged him really tightly, burying her head in his chest. Zell found Selphie to be a great comfort. He smiled slightly, and hugged her back.

Selphie broke away first.

"How do I get you back to your usual hyper self, then?" she asked "it's really strange, we're both usually so hyper!"

Zell shrugged

"That's love, I guess. You're upset about Irvine, I'm upset about Rinoa"

"We're you really in love with her then?"

Zell frowned slightly, thinking

"I thought I was, but…well, I guess I sort of was…" he trailed off

"I think that when you fall in love, you'll know it" Selphie said, smiling

Zell turned to look at her

"I said that, didn't I?" Zell asked. Selphie nodded enthusiastically

"I always remember your pearls of wisdom," Selphie said, laughing "mainly because they don't come up that often"

"Hey!" Zell said, but he was laughing along with Selphie. It felt goo dto laugh. He hadn't laughed in a while.

Selphie glanced at her watch.

"Nearly breakfast. Do you want to come out of your room?"

Zell didn't know what to do. He did want to go and have breakfast with his friends, like they always used to do, but he didn't think he could face seeing Rinoa…or Squall. What if Rinoa had told Squall about Zell's kiss? Squall would probably murder him. For real. Zell may be able to hold his own fighting, but Squall's gun blade popped into his head, and it was hard to get the image of Squall coming after him with it.

Zell shook his head. He was being stupid. Squall wouldn't do that to him, even if he did get mad. They were friends. What Zell was most scared about was losing his friends over this. But he had to leave his room sometime, and having Selphie by his side may make it easier…

"So, are you coming or not?" Selphie asked, her eyes silently pleading with him

"Um, I dunno, Selph. It's a bit soon"

Selphie lowered her head

"Irvine will probably be there. I brought him breakfast this morning, but I doubt he'd miss out on a second breakfast; you know how hungry he gets. And eveyone's meeting up for breakfast, we arranged it ages ago, remember? Please, Zell. You're my best friend, and I may cry if I see him for too long"

Zell nodded. Selphie's words had made up his mind

"I'm coming. Don't worry, Selph"

Selphie grinned and nodded happily, although Zell could still see a shadow of sadness over her face.

Selphie waited outside whilst Zell changed. It only took him a minute. And then he was out of his room for the first time in what felt like ages. Zell was going to help Selphie, even if it meant facing Rinoa again.

* * *

"Rinoa, open up, it's me, Squall" 

Rinoa closed her eyes and silently willed Squall to go away. She felt horrible. She was still in bed, and the confused emotions and Zell's kiss was swirling around in her mind and giving her a headache. She wanted to see Squall, of course. But she was also dreading seeing him. What would she say? Would she tell him about the kiss? She definitely didn't kiss Zell. Zell kissed HER. What would she do?

"I'm coming in" Rinoa heard Squall's voice again, and seconds later the door had opened and Squall strode in.

"Squall!" Rinoa cried "I'm still in bed! And how did you get in? I always lock my door!"

"Spare key," said Squall, holding up a duplicate copy of Rinoa's room key "thought it may come in handy one day"

Rinoa's surprise at Squall barging in on her had shook her memories of the previous evening, but now they all came rushing back. Rinoa realised that she still wanted to see Squall. Him being there was comforting. Squall shut the door and approached Rinoa's bed. He sat and put an arm around Rinoa.

"You ok?" he asked. Rinoa didn't look too well

"I'm…fine" Rinoa said, leaning on Squall's shoulder and relaxing slightly. Zell's shoulder may have been comforting last night, but Rinoa could never compare it to how she felt when she was near to Squall.

"Do you want to go out again tonight?" Squall asked

"Again?" Rinoa said. Squall didn't usually like going out to restaurants, but Rinoa loved it "Yeah, that would be great"

Squall gave her one of his awkward half-smiles; something he had picked up when Rinoa had once been teaching him how to smile properly-a gift he had never quite got the hang of-but Rinoa loved that awkward smile anyway.

"Want to come to breakfast with me?" Squall asked

"I've got to change first, I'll meet you down there" Rinoa said. She was glad things still felt normal around Squall. She was worried he would pick up that Zell had kissed him somehow, just by looking at her.

"I love you, Rinoa" Squall said quietly. He opened the door and then left, not leaving time for Rinoa to reply

"I love you too, Squall" Rinoa barely whispered, before she got out of bed and started to get ready, unaware that outside, Squall had half collapsed on the wall outside. Tonight was THE NIGHT!!! Thinking about it both excited and terrified him. He was going to propose. Squall recovered and started to walk to the cafeteria, his heart still pounding.

* * *

Quistis was waiting for Seifer. She was almost alone in the early morning cafeteria. As soon as Irvine had said goodbye and walked back to his room, Quistis had showered, changed and almost sprinted to the cafeteria, determined not to miss Seifer as he came for breakfast. She wanted to thank him for the great night out, and just to talk to him again, stare into his eyes like the night before. She smiled to herself, ignoring the plates of food in front of her. She didn't feel hungry at all.

She had positioned herself so that she could see anyone who walked through the doors. She thought that her friends would be joining her soon, like they normally did. All of them, herself, Squall, Rinoa, Irvine, Selphie and Zell crammed onto a table, laughing and talking together. They hadn't done it for a while…in fact, now Quistis thought of it, they hadn't all been together for a while now, all giggling and chatting casually. She missed them all. She had spoken to them individually, of course, but lately…it seemed as though something was driving them all apart. Quistis wondered what it was. She was thinking, when a familiar blond head and smirk came through the cafeteria doors.

Quistis jumped up so fast she must have looked stupid, but seeing Seifer made her feel so happy, she didn't care. She tried her best to appear calm and collected as she walked over to Seifer, who had taken a seat.

"Seifer, thanks for last night" Quistis said. Seifer turned around to face her. He was at alone

"What?" he asked, rather rudely

"Thanks for taking me out. I had a great time, didn't you?"

"Hmmm," said Seifer vaguely "but don't expect me to be so nice all the time, Instructor Trepe"

He said the last two words in a mocking tone. Anger swelled up inside Quistis. Why was he suddenly being so mean?

"Seifer…" Quistis almost whispered

Seifer waved his head to silence her and walked out of the door, ignoring Quistis altogether. Quistis stood there, shocked. What had just happened? Seifer was known for being unpredictable and sometimes mean, but never to Quistis. Not after the night they had shared. Quistis lowered her head and nearly ran out of the cafeteria. She had no idea where she was going, and she accidentally bumped into someone.

"Sorry"

"No worries, Quistis"

It was Irvine

"Are you ok" Irvine asked, looking concerned at Quistis' tear stained face

Quistis nodded. It was a lie, but Irvine guessed the truth anyway

"Seifer" Quistis nodded, more tears streaking down her face. She never cried. Not normally.

Irvine steeped forward and hugged her. To his surprise, she hugged him back.

"So, what did he do?" Irvine asked

Quistis broke away from the hug and told Irvine all about breakfast

"Seifer does like you, he's just got a funny way of showing it, that's all" Irvine said once Quistis had finished her story. She was no longer crying. It hurt Irvine to say this, but it was obvious that he didn't have a chance with her-she liked Seifer too much, and he wanted her to be happy.

"Thanks, Irvine"

"No probs, wanna go finish breakfast? It sounds like you didn't eat a lot"

Quistis nodded and smiled weakly, glad she had bumped into Irvine.

Together, they began walking to the cafeteria, and the breakfast that would not only mark the group's first get-together for a long time, but also the first time Rinoa and Zell would come face to face after the kiss.

**Hope you enjoyed! You know what to do! Review of course! Thanks to all my previous reviewers! Love you all, **

**Selphie Ivy xx**


	7. An Awkward Breakfast

A Twisted Love Story

**I'm back! Chapter 7 is now up! I'd like to thank everyone who's been reviewing so far. I'll put a proper list up of everyone's name around chapter 10, so keep the reviews coming! I would like to say a special thankyou, though, to CrazyTurkey who has been very supportive of me, and pushed me into faster writing by a combination of pressure and blackmail! Just kidding, but it is thanks to them that this chapter is up, so thanks CrazyTurkey! You rock! Now, on with the story! **

Chapter 7

"Zell, don't worry. Keep still for a moment and try to eat something" Selphie tried to calm Zell down, but he wasn't eating and kept glancing at the cafeteria doorway. He was obviously nervous about seeing Rinoa again. Selphie wouldn't admit it, but she too was worried about how everyone would get along. She stared down at her plate. She didn't feel hungry, either.

Selphie and Zell were the first out of the group to get to the cafeteria. They both sat, stealing glances at the door and making a little conversation, too wrapped up in their own thoughts to concentrate much.

Finally, Squall walked through the cafeteria doors. He wasn't with Rinoa, though. Zell let out a deep breath. He had been expecting Rinoa to be with Squall, as they usually went everywhere together. Perhaps Rinoa wasn't even coming Zell thought. He was so nervous about seeing her again.

"Squall looks a little strange" Selphie whispered to Zell as Squall approached their table. Zell started to panic. 'Rinoa's told Squall!' he thought 'and now I'm dead'

Squall reached their table and sat opposite Selphie.

'He does look different' Zell thought 'he looks almost-nervous about something'

"Hi Squall," Selphie said cheerfully, managing to keep a positive, cheery welcome despite the circumstances "where's Rin?"

"Still in bed. She's coming soon"

"You alright, Squall?" Zell asked nervously, although he was pretty sure that Rinoa hadn't told Squall anything, as Squall would probably be attempting to kill Zell by now.

Squall nodded, pulling a plate of food towards him and starting to eat. He avoided Selphie's and Zell's eyes. He couldn't stop thinking about what he was going to say to Rinoa. He didn't have a speech or anything prepared. Even if he did, he doubted he would remember it. He'd end up messing everything up like last time.

Irvine and Quistis came through the cafeteria doors. They were talking between themselves quietly. They stopped as soon as they reached the table where Selphie, Zell and Squall were sat. Normally, Irvine would sit next to Selphie, but he wanted to sit next to Quistis. His eyes roamed the table and he was glad to find that Zell was already in the seat next to Selphie, and Selphie was sat on the edge of the table, giving him a good excuse. He took his place next to Quistis, who was already sat next to Squall.

Everyone said a quick hello to each other, too lost in their own thoughts to concentrate on everyone else.

Finally, Rinoa arrived. She strode over to the table, her heart sinking when she realised the only spare seat was next to Zell. She took a deep breath and sat down next to him, saying a polite hello to everyone and flashing Squall a special smile, just for him. Squall only just managed to return it. Smiling wasn't his speciality at the best of times. Even though the whole group was now present, nobody spoke much.

Squall kept his head down, trying to come up with an opening sentence for his proposal speech. Next to him, Quistis was trying to forget about Seifer, which wasn't easy. His head kept popping up in her mind. What was wrong with her? Why didn't he like her? She raised her eyes and turned to Irvine, sat next to her. She thought it was slightly strange that he wasn't sitting next to Selphie. Normally, they were lost in their own world, but now Quistis hardly ever saw them together. Irvine saw her turn and smiled slightly at her. She returned the smile and went back to her food, realising that when Irvine smiled at her, she wasn't thinking of Seifer at all.

Next to her, Irvine was trying not to think of Quistis. It was hard, as she was sat right next to him, then she turned and Irvine gave her a small smile, to boost her spirits. She smiled back and Irvine's stomach gave a small flip. Irvine tried to ignore it and returned to his food, bullying his brain to obey and not to think of her.

Opposite him, Rinoa was having, if possible, a worse time. She wasn't comfortable sitting so close to Zell. Sure, the tables actually had plenty of room, but Rinoa felt squashed. She didn't expect to be sat next to Zell. How had this happened? She was accidentally going to burst out with the truth. She just knew it. This was so awkward for her. She lowered her head and chewed faster.

Next to Rinoa, Zell had problems. Rinoa was sat right next to him, something he hadn't been expecting at all. He didn't have strong feelings for her anymore, but he still didn't think it was a good idea for them to be sat so close. Perhaps Squall would guess something was up, especially since they were avoiding each other's eyes. It must look so obvious.

Zell's main problem, however, was the fact that Selphie was sat so close to him. He could feel her arm brush against his every time she reached across the table for her drink. Every time this happened, a little flutter happened in his stomach. He didn't know what it was, but it made him feel very uncomfortable.

He turned to look at Selphie; she smiled back, her eyes twinkling.

Zell's stomach did a tiny flip. He lowered his head and continued to eat, trying to ignore both Rinoa and Selphie.

Selphie was too busy thinking to notice that her arm kept brushing against Zell's arm. She kept glancing down the table at Irvine. Normally, Irvine would do anything to make sure he was sat next to Selphie, but today, he had seemed happy enough with Quistis. Selphie didn't mind. She and Irvine had been steadily growing apart for a while. She still loved him, yes, but she always knew there was a possibility he would break her heart. He obviously liked someone else, and so Selphie had to make sure she was prepared to be dumped. Tears started to form in her eyes. She discreetly wiped them away, and glanced again at Irvine. He was now smiling at Quistis, and she was smiling back. Selphie looked at the two of them, smiling at each other, and something clicked at the back of her mind. Something important. Selphie gave her head a slight shake. What was it? She sighed to herself. She'd think of it later. She knew Irvine loved someone else…if only she could fit together all the pieces of the puzzle, to figure out who…she turned her head to look at Zell, at smiled. He smiled back but Selphie could see red flushing his cheeks. Selphie understood. Sitting next to Rinoa was something Zell could have done without. She really should have thought of the seating positions better. Selphie lowered her head and continued to eat.

Rinoa finished first, perhaps because she had chewed so fast, wanting to get way from the awkwardness of the breakfast table. All around them, other Balamb students were making lots of noise, eating, talking and laughing, yet on their table, it had seemed silent, blocking out noise from around them.

As Rinoa rose, the silence that lingered over the table was broken, and she could hear the rest of the cafeteria noises around her.

"I'd better be going" she announced. Rinoa didn't even wait for Squall. She half walked, half ran out of the cafeteria, and didn't stop until she was safely out of earshot, before breathing a big sigh of relief. She had survived her first encounter with Zell after the kiss. She smiled and started to walk back to her room.

Irvine finished next; he tipped his hat and was off. After him, Selphie finished, but waited for Zell, who was draining his drink. They both said goodbye to Squall and Quistis, and headed out together. Squall finished seconds later. He said a almost silent goodbye to Quistis, who was now the only one left on the table, and headed out the door.

The truth was, Quistis had finished at the same time as Selphie, but she had pretended to still be busy with her drink as everyone around her left. She had planned to confront Seifer as he left the cafeteria, so he couldn't escape. She could see the back of his grey coat now. He was at with Raijin and Fujin, as usual. She slowly stood up and walked out of the cafeteria. As soon as she was out of the doors, she gently leant against the wall outside. She now couldn't be seen until you were right out of the doors, but Quistis could easily see anyone who was coming out.

And so she waited. She tapped her foot impatiently and bit her lip, trying to think of what to say to Seifer as he came out. She had to control herself, she knew that. Minutes ticked by, and Quistis was still waiting. After about fifteen minutes, Seifer and his two 'posse members' came walking out together. Quistis stepped forward to catch them.

"Seifer, could I have a word?" Quistis asked, expecting Seifer to ignore her or turn her down. Instead, to her surprise, he turned to look at her, and gave a small nod. Quistis tried to lead him away from his posse, but Fujin and Raijin seemed determined to follow. Seifer turned and said something in a low voice to both of them. They both nodded and started to walk away. Quistis was surprised. She had been preparing herself to tell them to go away and give her and Seifer some privacy, which always ended up sounding really wrong in her head.

Quistis turned to Seifer, and opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Seifer was talking

"I think I know what this is about, Trepe. You want to know why I've been so nasty to you lately, if I like you, and if we're going to date again"

Quistis stared. Those were the questions, or near enough, she had prepared to ask.

"Well, question one's answer is-that's just me. If you like me, I'm sure you can live with it. You've lived with it for a long time now, in the orphanage, here. You're probably the only one who really understands me. Perhaps you'll understand that, I don't know. Question two…" Seifer suddenly started to laugh. Quistis was taken aback "I don't know if you really believe I'm capable to like anyone, so I'll let you figure that out for yourself. Question three is the easiest to answer. Yes. But not right now. Now, I'm extremely busy, Trepe, so I'll be off now"

And without another word, Seifer swept away, his grey coat flowing out since he was walking so fast, leaving Quistis in a stunned silence.

**Yay! I did it! I'm going to try as hard as possible to get the next chapter up as soon as I can, so review please, and look out for it. Until then, bye! Selphie Ivy x**


	8. To Comfort a Friend

A Twisted Love Story

**Hi again! I can't believe I'm still going! Hope everyone's enjoying it so far! Thanks to anyone who's reviewed so far. I'll be listing names at chapter 10-so keep the reviews coming! Now, enjoy!**

Chapter 8

Quistis finally managed to recover from Seifer's words and started to make her way down the corridors of Balamb garden, looking for someone to talk to. Rinoa or Selphie would probably be her best option, but Rinoa's room was ages away, and Selphie had gone off with Zell; they could be anywhere. She didn't actually know who would be best to tell, anyway. Rinoa and Selphie would probably just advise her to think positively and continue as she was. Sweet advice, but not always the most useful…

She turned another corner and found her feet had taken her to Squall's room. She decided to knock, so at least she could wish him luck for his proposal. She knew he was going to propose soon, since he had failed the other night, and she still felt it was sort of her fault for arriving at the same restaurant as Squall and Rinoa the other night. That seemed so long ago now. That night had been so perfect. Her and Seifer…

Quistis shook her head and forced herself to concentrate. Squall would probably be at the training centre, anyway. She'd just as well knock and see, though. She raised her hand and gave the door a few short taps. To her surprise, it opened almost immediately. Squall peered out, his hair falling over his face. Quistis remembered when she had believed she had loved Squall. She had thought he was gorgeous. And look what happened then…Squall had fallen in love with Rinoa. Not that it mattered, since Quistis had realised then that her feelings for him were more sisterly than romantic, and she was happy for both him and Rinoa. What was it with her? Did she fall in love too easily? First Squall, now Seifer…

"Quistis? What do you want?" Squall asked

Quistis shook her head slightly to get rid of her thoughts.

"Oh, just stopping by to wish you luck with your proposal"

Squall's eyes widened.

"Come in" he said, stepping aside and letting Quistis enter. As soon as she was in, he shut the door and rounded on her

"How did you know?"

Quistis stared.

"You told me ages ago, remember?"

"No," said Squall shortly "how did you know it was tonight?"

"It's tonight? Well, good luck…"

Squall's eyes were still slightly narrowed, as though he believed Quistis was planning to sabotage his proposal. Quistis guessed what he was thinking.

"I love you as a friend, Squall. You and Rinoa are perfect for each other" Quistis sighed inwardly. Why would Squall not forget all about Quistis's crush on him? It was all in the past…

Quistis realised she wasn't going to be sharing her inner thoughts nor receiving any advice from Squall right now, even though Squall wasn't staring at her with such narrowed eyes anymore. She wished him luck again and strode out of the room, Squall shutting the door behind her.

Quistis looked around desperately. She really needed a friend, someone who she could simply talk to and not be judged. She suddenly knew who she could talk to. She turned and set off in the direction of Irvine's room.

* * *

"So Selph, what do you wanna do?" Zell asked Selphie. They had walked together out of the dining room and Selphie had followed him to his room. She plonked herself down on his bed and looked up at Zell

"Wow, that was an awkward breakfast" she said, ignoring Zell's question.

"Ummm, yeah, I guess" Zell replied, his stomach squirming uncomfortably. Had Selphie guessed how uncomfortable she had made him? Did she think he fancied her or something? Because he didn't. He saw her as a friend…didn't he?

As Zell subconsciously wrestled with himself, Selphie cut in.

"Irvine and Quistis sat together"

"Ummm, well, yeah…but they are good friends, Selph"

Selphie didn't say anything, so Zell continued.

"I mean, it's like you and me…we're just good friends, nothing more" Zell felt a stab in his stomach, but he ignored it.

"Yeah, ok" Selphie replied, although she was frowning to herself, as though she was trying to form an answer in her mind about why Irvine and Quistis had sat together.

"Hey, Zell, you don't think…Quistis…"

Zell didn't need Selphie to finish her question to know what she was asking.

"No way" Zell laughed "they're friends, just friends. Like us." Another stab. Zell closed his eyes and tried to continue, watching Selphie's face closely for any signs of emotion when he mentioned himself and her as 'just friends' "Look, Selph, perhaps you're getting paranoid"

Selphie looked up at him. Zell jumped back slightly. Selphie looked mad. Zell knew she was going to start yelling any moment. Selphie may be sweet and innocent most of the time, when she got mad, even Squall avoided her.

Zell contemplated running out of his room, but then Selphie burst into tears, and her anger vanished.

"Selph," Zell said gently, feeling guilty for making her cry "it's ok, Irvine loves you, I'm sure"

This was a white lie. Zell wasn't so sure if Irvine loved her anymore. They had become so distant lately, but Selphie obviously still liked him…Zell just wanted to protect her. He sat down on the bed next to her, put his arm around her and hugged her, like he had always done when Selphie needed him.

Nothing had changed.

Apart from his stomach twisting again as Selphie lay her head on his shoulder.

* * *

Irvine opened his door to find Quistis waiting outside patiently

"Hey, Quistis, what's up?"

Quistis shrugged, but Irvine already knew the answer.

"Seifer?" Irvine asked. Quistis nodded

"Come in" Irvine instructed. Quistis walked into his room and sat straight down on Irvine's bed, her head lowered.

"What has he done now?"

Quistis sighed and began her story about how she had cornered Seifer after breakfast-and everything he had said to her.

"I mean, he did say about how there was a chance we would go out again," Quistis said hopefully, trying to remember Seifer's exact words "so maybe we will"

Irvine sat silently all through Quistis' story, listening to her intently.

"Perhaps…you will" Irvine said lamely, wishing he could say what was really on his mind. He wanted to tell Quistis that Seifer wasn't worth her time. She should try to get over him, but however he worded it in his head, it always sounded harsh and uncaring.

"You must think I'm pathetic" Quistis whispered, her head lowered again

"No, no I don't" Irvine reassured her. He sat down next to her on the bed and awkwardly tried to put his arm around Quistis' shoulder. Normally, he was so smooth and charming, but Quistis made him feel so nervous.

Suddenly, Quistis laid her head down on Irvine's shoulder, surprising him. She turned her face to his, and for one second Irvine thought they were going to kiss. But then Quistis closed her eyes and promptly fell asleep.

Irvine sighed. Didn't he ever get a break?

* * *

Selphie finally stopped crying ten minutes later. Zell sat and comforted all that time, but Selphie still looked upset when they set off for the training centre together.

Zell had suggested they go there, as he thought it would be good for both him and Selphie to let off some steam and take their minds off their situations. At first, Selphie didn't seem to keen on the idea, but as they got closer and closer to the training centre, her depression seemed to have lifted slightly, and she was soon jumping around, laughing and battling monsters with Zell.

The old Selphie was back, if only for a little while.

* * *

Squall glanced at his watch. 8:24pm. Rinoa was sat opposite, finishing off her main meal. Squall had hardly eaten anything, he was so nervous about proposing. He checked his pocket for what felt like the hundredth time that evening to make sure that that ring was still safe. He bit his lip. He still had no idea what to say. He'd just have to make it up again.

Rinoa finished her main meal, and the waiter came over and took their plates away. Rinoa's stomach was turning. She felt nervous, as though something big was going to happen that evening. Squall was avoiding her eyes again. He kept biting his lip. A sinking feeling came to Rinoa's stomach. She had remembered how strangely Squall had acted before.

'He's going to dump me' Rinoa thought. This was it. She was going to be dumped this evening.

"Rinoa" Squall said. Rinoa didn't look at him. She closed her eyes and willed herself not to cry.

"Rinoa" Squall repeated. Rinoa still had her eyes shut, and seemed to be ignoring him. 'She knows I'm going to propose' Squall thought desperately 'and she wants to let me down easy'

"Rinoa" Squall said yet again. Rinoa finally looked up. Squall took a deep breath. He was going to do it. If she turned him down, he would be heartbroken. But he knew he had to do it. He had to take a risk.

"Rinoa, I…I…thought of so many ways to do this. I thought…I thought you may turn me down, but I want you to know that I love you more than anything in the entire world, and, I'm asking…"

Squall knelt down on one knee. Rinoa gasped. Squall was vaguely aware that the entire restaurant had stopped eating and was watching him, but he ignored them, concentrating on Rinoa completely

"…Rinoa, will you marry me?"

**Ok, that's all for know. Sorry if the proposal was a bit strange, but I couldn't think how Squall would propose, so I did the best I could. Review please! The next chapter will be out soon! Love, Selphie Ivy x**


	9. Disasters and Decisions

A Twisted Love Story

**Hope you like it! Enjoy!**

Chapter 9

"Alright, Selph?" Zell called, hitting some monsters out the way as he sprinted over to where Selphie was bouncing around, hitting more monsters out of the way with her long nunchaku.

"I'm doing great, Zelly," Selphie laughed as Zell bounced over "I'm nearly done here. It's been a great day" Zell nodded in agreement

"Yeah, it has. I'm feeling pretty worn out now" Selphie looked at him and laughed

"Zell, worn out? Is it true?" she laughed and hit him gently on the shoulder

"We should really go back, what's the time?"

Zell checked his watch.

"It's 8:24pm" he said, slightly shocked "I had no idea how late it was. We've been here all day!"

Selphie laughed at his surprise.

"Time flies when you're having fun" she said, giggling. She turned and they walked out of the training centre together, still laughing together.

Eventually, they arrived at Selphie's room. Zell and Selphie were situated pretty close together-Zell's room was just along the corridor.

"Bye, Zell" Selphie said cheerfully. She'd had a very good day, spending it with Zell in the training centre. She hadn't thought of Irvine once. Zell waved goodbye and continued down the corridor. He reached his room and let himself in.

He threw his keys to the side and went to have a shower. Once out, he changed and flopped onto his bed. He glanced at the time. 8:58. He had only eaten breakfast this morning, and he was pretty hungry. He knew the cafeteria would still be doing food, even at this time, but he knew there would be no hotdogs left and he couldn't be bothered to walk to the cafeteria, anyway.

Zell rolled over on his side and tried to ignore his grumbling stomach. He watched the clock beside his bed. At the exact moment the clock changed to 9:00, there was a knock on his door. Zell stood up, wondering who would be calling at this time. It was probably Selphie.

He strode to the door and opened it. He was shocked to see Rinoa stood in the doorway.

"Zell…can I come in?" she asked, in a choked voice. Zell nodded and stood aside. What was wrong with Rinoa?

* * *

Quistis' eyes slowly opened. Where was she? She turned her head and realised she was in Irvine's room. She had remembered talking to him, but she must have fainted or fallen asleep, since she couldn't remember anything else. She turned and saw Irvine lying next to her, and she was lead on his outstretched arm.

Gently, Quistis rose and stared at Irvine. He looked so calm and peaceful when he was sleeping, like a sleeping baby. Quistis stifled a giggle. She was sure Irvine wouldn't want to be compared to a sleeping baby. She stood up, making sure that she didn't wake Irvine. All her clothes were crumpled from her falling asleep with them still on for such a long amount of time.

Quistis glanced at her watch. 8:24! Had she really slept for that long? A whole day wasted. She was actually quite surprised that she had slept for so long. Quistis recently had been suffering from insomnia. Seifer's face kept popping up in her mind whenever she tried to sleep. Sleeping next to Irvine, however, seemed to have calmed her enough to sleep well.

Quistis knelt down next to Irvine's face, and kissed his cheek. She saw his cheek twitch slightly as she did this, but he didn't wake.

Still smiling to herself, Quistis left the room.

* * *

Rinoa slowly walked into Zell's room and Zell shut the door behind her.

"What's wrong?" Zell asked. He had a bad feeling in his stomach.

"I…I…," Rinoa started, her eyes downcast. Zell guided her to the bed and sat her down. Rinoa looked into his eyes. "Squall proposed" she said simply.

Zell was surprised, but he still managed to grin

"Congratulations! When's the wedding?" Zell knew he had said something wrong, because Rinoa burst into tears.

"I…I..freaked out and…and…left Squall, sitting…there…at the table" she cried, in between sobs.

Zell stared. His heart was beating so fast. What could he say?

"Ummmm…why?" Zell couldn't think of anything better to say. Rinoa stared, tears pouring down her face.

"I...don't ...know. Squall's going…to hate me…forever" she said, still sobbing

"But…Squall loves you, and you love him!" Zell said. This was getting insane. Zell thought that Squall and Rinoa was a perfect couple. Sure, he had liked Rinoa, but he had never really believed he would have her. Zell's face flushed at the memory. Rinoa noticed.

"Zell," she said slowly "do you really love me?" she asked him quietly

Zell paused to think, his face still slightly flushed.

"No," Zell said finally "I mean, I like you, as a friend, I liked you as more than that for a while…but…that was before…it was sort of like…"

"A crush?" Rinoa suggested. Zell nodded.

"All I know," Zell started "is that you and Squall are made for one another. If you don't say yes, you'll regret it for the rest of your life. I know you love him, and he loves you. It's really that simple."

"How?" asked Rinoa "how do you know I love him, when I can't even say yes to his proposal without freaking out?" Her eyes were red from crying, but at least she had stopped sobbing.

"Would you have pulled away from me otherwise?" Zell asked, feeling as though his stomach was being stabbed as he remembered the evening he had desperately tried to forget. He didn't expand on his sentence, but Rinoa knew exactly what he meant.

"I've got to go" Rinoa said suddenly, standing up and wiping her eyes.

"Rinoa, you don't have to worry about me…I'm over you. I'm fine. Forget about how stupid I was. It's in the past, and you can't run away from Squall, either" Zell said, standing up too

"There's not much time-if I have to plan a wedding" Rinoa said quietly, but a smile was spreading her face. Zell started to grin too.

"So…Squall"

"Yes, I'll find him now, I just hope he'll forgive me"

"He will"

"Thank you, Zell"

Zell nodded. His chest was exploding with fireworks. Squall and Rinoa were getting married! The best thing was that he, Zell, didn't feel any sadness or anger about this. Only joy for them. He was officially over Rinoa. He felt like jumping up and down, like Selphie would do when she felt happy. Thinking of Selphie made his stomach twist. Rinoa was now at the door.

"Oh, and Zell…about you and Selphie…"

"We're just friends, why?" said Zell so quickly he knew it sounded as though he was deliberately hiding something. Rinoa seemed to notice.

"Oh…ok" she said, smiling slightly despite herself. Zell blushed. Rinoa giggled, then fell serious again.

"I'll never forget your words, Zell. Thank you"

And then she was gone.

* * *

Squall leant over the balcony of Balamb. He had never felt so broken in his entire life. He looked up into the clear night and tears slowly formed in his eyes and fell down his face.

Rinoa was gone. She had freaked out and left him, down on one knee in the middle of the restaurant, with everyone watching. He kept replaying the moment in his mind. Him bending down and holding out the ring. Rinoa, jumping up. Squall believing this was a good sign-she was overjoyed with his proposal. But then, she had turned on her heel and sprinted from the restaurant, knocking a waiter aside in her rush. Squall had stayed, paralysed for a few moments, slowly becoming more aware of the whispers around him, shock holding him still. Eventually, he had risen, thrown money on the table and walked out, willing himself not to cry. He had eventually reached Balamb Garden, and here he was now.

He laid his head on the cold balcony, thinking of Rinoa. He had been so stupid, letting her in so deep. He had been right before. It wasn't worth becoming close to anyone; you only got your heart broken.

More silent tears ran down his face as he remembered her. Her smile, her touch, her kiss…

He felt like he would happily die, just to get rid of the pain. If only he would hear her calling her name one more time…

"Squall"

More tears flowed down Squall's face. He clamped his hands over his ears. His mind was playing cruel tricks on him

"Squall" The voice repeated. It was Rinoa's voice. He scrunched his face up and felt like he wanted to yell, but all he could do was whisper

"Leave me alone" he whispered

"Oh…" the voice faltered.

Squall stopped. That wasn't a trick of the mind, that really was Rinoa's voice. He spun around.

Rinoa stood there, and tears were streaming down her face. She looked as though she had been running.

Squall didn't know what to say. He simply stared.

"Squall…I'm so sorry…I didn't mean to leave you…I can never forgive myself…but you must believe me…you probably won't…but, I just want you to know…I love you…and…and..." Rinoa trailed off, still crying

Squall stared for a few moments. He believed he would be angry when he next saw Rinoa, but, staring at her, he felt only relief. She did love him. He could forget everything else. That was all that mattered"

"Rinoa…will you marry me?" Squall asked.

Rinoa paused, surprised that Squall had forgiven her so easily, but then she smiled

"Yes!" she cried, running over to Squall and hugging him.

Squall hugged her back. Trying to hold his tears back, but they still spilled down his face.

He had Rinoa back and he had never felt so happy in his entire life.

**It doesn't end here people! There's still going to be plenty more twists and turns, so look out for chapter 10! Coming soon! Until then, review please! The more reviews, the more motivated I'll be to write faster! So keep them coming!**

**Until next time, bye!**

**Selphie Ivy xx**


	10. Plans

A Twisted Love Story

**First, I'd like to thank all the truly lovely people who have spent their time reading and reviewing. Without you guys, this would never have continued. **

**I'd like to thank CrazyTurkey, another opinion, Sidalee, Kun'aii and Relyob. You guys have been reviewing at least since chapter 5 (I'll do this every 5 chapter!) You guys are amazing!!! Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou!**

**I hope you keep reading and reviewing…there's still more to come:D**

**I'm also going to say a big sorry for the long wait! I know how annoying it is to wait for a chapter. I've been very busy, but, to make up for it, this chapter is super long! I think it's actually the longest chapter so far…so, enjoy!**

**And remember to review please! XD**

Chapter 10

It was 9:25pm as Quistis was sat eating a late dinner in the cafeteria.

Quistis sighed heavily to herself. She never ate this late. She was normally so organised, but falling asleep with Irvine for the whole day had thrown her daily plan away.

Suddenly, she heard a voice shrieking her name

"Quistis! Quistis!"

Quistis spun around and saw Rinoa sprinting across the cafeteria, seemingly oblivious to the student's stares as they watched her run over to Quistis.

"I'm engaged!" Rinoa cried, her face beaming. Quistis couldn't help noticing that her eyes were slightly red, as though she'd been crying.

"Congratulations! That's great!" exclaimed Quistis, trying to act as though this was news to her "let's see the ring!"

Rinoa held out her hand and showed Quistis the diamond ring Squall had brought her.

"Wow!" said Quistis "it's beautiful!"

"Thanks!" said Rinoa, still beaming

"Where's Squall now?" asked Quistis, noticing his absence when he should really be with Rinoa

"Oh, he's off telling Zell and Irvine, I think. Or he may just have gone back to his room because I mentioned I was going to come and tell you and Selphie, and he looked so exhausted. I don't think he could face me jumping up and it's been a long day. Anyway, I've got a lot to prepare if the wedding is going to be in two weeks" Rinoa said brightly

Quistis nearly choked, which she managed to disguise well with a cough

"Two weeks?" Quistis asked faintly "why such a short time away?"

Rinoa shrugged

"Didn't see the point in over planning. Grab a nice dress for me, some bridesmaid dresses to match. The guys get tuxedos, order a cake, find a place…it's not going to take years, is it?" Rinoa giggled "No, two weeks will be fine for me and Squall. Just a small ceremony, just close friends…Oh, Selphie!"

Rinoa had just spotted Selphie entering the cafeteria, making her way towards their table. Rinoa managed to wait patiently until Selphie was sat down next to her before turning and showing her the ring

"Squall proposed!" Rinoa cried, and Selphie started to clap her hands together excitedly

"Congratulations!" Selphie cried, hugging Rinoa "does that mean there's a wedding to plan?" she asked eagerly, her eyes shining with excitement

"Yeah, I was just telling Quistis about it. I've got the basic idea of what I want…"

"Wait a moment" Selphie said suddenly. She leapt from her seat and jogged out of the cafeteria

"Where's she going?" Rinoa asked

Selphie returned two minutes later with a chunky writing pad and a pen.

"Fire away" she told Rinoa, sitting down next to her and turning to face her "tell me everything you want, and I can help organise it…unless Quisty wants to help…"

"Me? No, no, I'm fine, honestly" Quistis said quickly. Selphie was the one who was a fantastic party planner, and Quistis didn't envy Selphie if she only had two weeks to plan and entire wedding from scratch.

"Well…" Rinoa started "It's just going to be a small ceremony, not too many people…you know" Selphie nodded, her pen running over the pad as she scribbled all the details down.

"How many, roughly?" Selphie asked

"Well, me and Squall, obviously, then all our closest friends" Rinoa started counting on her fingers "you and Quistis, Irvine, Zell…that's six. Then I guess we invite parents…" Rinoa pulled a face "so I guess my lovely father will be coming, or perhaps not. Depends if he thinks Squall is suitable. Then we'll invite Laguna and Ellone…can't really think of anyone else"

Selphie nodded, scribbling the names of all the guests down as Rinoa said them

"What about Seifer?" Quistis said suddenly, before she could stop herself

Rinoa and Selphie both stared at her, and Quistis hastened to correct herself

"I mean…he was at the orphanage with Squall and all the rest of us, and…and" Quistis struggle to find more reasons "and you did date him…" she finished, quite lamely

Quistis expected Rinoa to say no to inviting Seifer straight away, but Rinoa looked quite thoughtful.

"Hmm, well, I guess we should, really. I mean, he did grow up with you guys, and it would be nice to have everyone with close personal connections there…" she trailed off, still looking thoughtful.

"Ok, I'll put him on the list. What about Fujin and Raijin?" Selphie asked

"No way!" Quistis and Rinoa cried together

"I agree, you said close friends…ok, they're out," Selphie said, crossing off the names "now, is there anyone else?"

"Headmaster Cid and Matron" Quistis suggested

"What about other SeeDs, Nida and Xu and that?" Selphie asked "or Kiros and Ward?"

"Yeah, and don't you want to invite your old owl members, Watts and Zone?" Quistis asked

Rinoa looked stunned.

"This is meant to be a small ceremony. Selphie, can you draw me up an entire possible guest list, and I'll tell you who to invite and who to cross out"

Selphie nodded, turned a page on her writing pad and started to write every possible guest down in a long list. Quistis sighed and finally got back to her meal, which was now cold.

"Finished," said Selphie happily, three minutes later "now I'll go down the list and we'll vote yes or no. If we can't reach a decision, we'll ask Squall, Irvine and Zell and so on until we reach a good decision" Rinoa and Quistis nodded

"Right…the first name is…Rinoa"

Quistis and Rinoa stared.

"So…I'm guessing yes then…What about Squall?"

"You're very precise, aren't you?" Quistis said

"Well, I want everything to be perfect," Selphie said "now, me, Quisty, Irvy, Zelly…I'm guessing we're all yes, too?"

Rinoa nodded

"Now, Seifer…"

"I'd say yes, if only for the sake of everyone who grew up with him. He may be arrogant, but he is sort of family, especially to you guys…" Rinoa said

"Yes" Quistis agreed

Selphie frowned slightly

"Well…ok" she said finally "but don't blame me if the wedding turns into a funeral because Squall and Seifer decide to murder each other"

The same thought seemed to have struck Rinoa.

"Well…let's put him as a maybe…ask the guys"

Selphie giggled

"Squall will say no. Zell will say no. Irvine probably won't be too keen to invite him"

"Why don't we invite him, but keep him away from Squall all day" Quistis suggested

"Wow, that sounds like fun" said Rinoa sarcastically, but they couldn't think of any other way to do it, so they all agreed on that

"He probably won't even turn up," said Selphie reassuringly to Rinoa, who was looking worried at the prospect of Seifer ruining the wedding "anyway, next one…Matron and Headmaster Cid"

Rinoa looked thoughtful

"Yes, I mean…the orphanage…" she trailed off, still thinking. Selphie and Quistis agreed that they should be invited and Selphie looked at the next names

"Kiros and Ward, close friends of Laguna's" Rinoa bit her lip. Did she really want so many strangers there?

Selphie saw Rinoa's face

"Why don't we see if Laguna can come first," Selphie suggested "what about other SeeDs?"

"No, I think if we invite a few, we'll have to invite everyone of them" Quistis said

"Yeah, I mean, I know you're friends with Xu and that, but I hardly know any SeeDs apart from you guys, and Squall is hardly mr popular with the other SeeDs"

Selphie nodded, crossing some names off

"Zone and Watts"

"Nah. They may have been in the timber owls, but we were never that close"

"Parents, I assume, are automatically invited. That means General Caraway and Laguna. Oh, and Ellone" Selphie said. Rinoa nodded.

"Right, I think we have the list" Selphie said, handing her pad to Rinoa. Rinoa looked down at the guest list. It read;

Bride and Groom-Rinoa Heartilly and Squall Leonhart

Guests-

Quistis Trepe

Zell Dincht

Selphie Tilmitt

Irvine Kinneas

Seifer Almasy

General Caraway

Laguna Loire

Ellone

Cid Kramer

Edea Kramer

"So, twelve people, if everyone turns up" Selphie said

"Yeah, I think that's a good number. I mean, it's only going to be a small number of people for a small wedding. Nothing too big"

"Right," said Selphie cheerfully "now when are you planning to do this? How much time to I have?"

"Well, I'm thinking about…two weeks"

Selphie fainted.

"Selph? Selph? Are you ok?"

Selphie opened her eyes and found that she had somehow fallen onto Rinoa's lap.

"What?" Selphie asked groggily, rising

"You fainted" said Quistis "when Rinoa told you how much time you had to plan her wedding"

"Oh…yes," said Selphie, looking around at the cafeteria, which was now almost completely empty around from a few students who were eating late "sorry"

"Do you think we can do it?" Rinoa asked hopefully "if we all work together"

Selphie looked hesitant for a moment, but then she saw Rinoa's pleading eyes

"Well…we could try. It would actually be a super fun challenge, I guess!"

Rinoa looked relieved.

"Why is it so important you get married so quickly?" Quistis asked

"Well…"Rinoa started. The real reason she wanted to get married so quickly was because she had a bad feeling that something was going to get in the way, and stop her and Squall from getting married. They had already overcome so much…she had to do this before something awful happened. Of course, Rinoa didn't want to tell Selphie and Quistis the real reason, that would require too much explanation and an account of everything which had happened before, including Zell's kiss and the fiasco of Squall's proposal. She couldn't face that right now. She'd tell them eventually…probably. But get the wedding over with. Let her and Squall be happy that nobody could get in the way then. Only death would part them.

"I…just want to make it soon. Don't want to make a big deal out of it…"

"I thought you wanted a big wedding?" Quistis asked. Rinoa shrugged.

"I used to, yes, but now I've meet Squall…it doesn't seem that important anymore. I just want a wedding where everyone is happy and I get to marry Squall, the love of my life…" Rinoa stopped, noticing that both Quistis and Selphie were staring at her "what?" she asked

"You and Squall have a love so pure!" Selphie cried, and then she burst into tears on Quistis' shoulder.

It took five minutes to calm her down.

"Ok," said Selphie once she had recovered from her crying fit "we better get going as soon as possible if we want this wedding to happen. I suggest we start looking for your wedding dress as soon as possible, Rinoa, and the bridesmaid dresses too"

Rinoa nodded.

"Yeah, when are you two free?"

"Anytime, really, since we don't have any missions to complete at the moment, so we're free whenever"

"Right, well how about…tomorrow. No point in waiting until the last moment"

Quistis and Selphie nodded.

"How about 9am, by the front gates. Then we'll go shopping all day" Quistis suggested

"9am!" Selphie cried "I'd say more around 10am. I'm not getting up too early"

"We'll meet at 10am" Rinoa said "is that ok?"

Selphie and Quistis both nodded

"Right, and I also have to decide who is going to be maid of honour"

Quistis and Selphie looked at each other. This was going to be a showdown between them.

"I've come up with a great plan, which means that everyone of us gets to be maid of honour. For example, if, say, Quistis is my maid of honour, then Selphie will be maid of honour at Quistis's wedding, and I'll be maid of honour at Selphie's…"

"Ohhh…who am I marrying?" asked Selphie

"I dunno…Irvine"

Selphie looked slightly disappointed.

"I thought you were going to give me a different groom"

"Ok, fine," said Rinoa impatiently "Seifer"

"Seifer!" cried Selphie, giggling "I don't really think he's my type"

"Does it really matter?" asked Quistis quickly "anyway, I thought we were choosing the maid of honour?"

"Oh, yeah, right," said Selphie, her face growing serious again "so who do you pick, Rin?"

Rinoa stared at both Quistis' and Selphie's expectant faces.

"I…er…" Rinoa had no idea. She didn't expect it to be this hard.

"Well…" said Quistis slowly "I have an idea…why don't we let Squall choose?"

"Squall!" cried Rinoa and Selphie together

"No, not directly" Quistis said quickly "let's wait until he chooses best man. It's going to be either Irvine or Zell, right?"

Rinoa and Selphie nodded.

"Well, why not match one of us up with each of them. For example, if Selphie is matched to Zell, and Squall picks Zell as his best man, then Selphie will become maid of honour, and if I'm matched to Irvine and Squall chooses Irvine, then I'm maid of honour….does that seem fair?"

"That's a great idea, Quisty" Selphie said excitedly, bouncing up and down on her seat.

"Yes, but how will we match you two up with the boys?" Rinoa said

Quistis and Selphie immediately fell silent, thinking of who had a better chance of becoming best man out of Irvine and Zell.

"Why don't we write their names down on two pieces of paper, and we pick one each? Then it'll be completely fair" Selphie suggested

"Yeah, good idea" and Rinoa ripped a page out Selphie's pad and ripped it in half. She then scribbled 'Irvine' on one piece and 'Zell' on the other. She folded both and held both of the pieces of paper behind her back, one in each hand.

"Pick one hand" she told Quistis. Quistis selected Rinoa's right hand. Rinoa handed Quistis the paper from her right hand, and gave Selphie the paper from her left hand.

"Now…open" Rinoa said. Quistis and Selphie opened their pieces and read, before turning to each other and finally to Rinoa

"I have Irvine" said Quistis

"I've got Zell" Selphie said

"Right, now Squall decides on his best man, and one of you is the lucky maid of honour" said Rinoa brightly

"Sounds great" said Selphie

"Yeah, "agreed Quistis "but I really think we should be leaving the cafeteria now"

"Why?" questioned Rinoa

"Well, it was 9:25pm when you arrived, and now it's gone 11pm. We should really go, especially if we're going to be shopping all day tomorrow"

Selphie nodded, leaping out of her seat and jumping up and down.

"This weddings going to be so fun!" she exclaimed, and she started to skip over to the cafeteria entrance. Luckily, hardly anyone was there to witness this, as the cafeteria was now almost completely empty. Quistis and Rinoa eventually caught her up, and they all started walking back to their rooms.

"Right, well, see you tomorrow, both of you, just outside Balamb Garden gates" Rinoa said as they reached her room

"Yeah, bye" Quistis and Selphie said as Rinoa found her door key and let herself in. They continued down the corridor. Selphie's room was next, Selphie waved and shut her door, and Quistis continued along the corridor to her room, alone.

So, Rinoa and Squall were getting married…for real. It hadn't really sunk in, even now. Even when Squall had said before, Quistis had never really thought about it, never really believed it would be happening so fast…

Thinking of love made Quistis think about Seifer. She wondered if he would come to the wedding. Wondered if he would bother…

He probably would, if only for the free food. Sighing to herself, Quistis pulled out her key and let herself into her room. She shut the door and crossed the room, collapsing on her bed. No sooner had she sat down, there was a knock on the door.

"Who'd be calling now?" Quistis asked herself. He glanced at her watch. It was 11pm.

Quistis stood up and crossed the room. She opened the door to find Seifer stood right outside. Quistis was so surprised, she couldn't speak.

"Hello, Trepe" Seifer said, his usual smirk plastered across his face as usual.

Quistis folded her arms and expected the worst. What was Seifer going to do now? Insult her? Dump her? Ok, so technically she couldn't be dumped because they weren't going out, but still…

"So, Trepe, do want to accompany me on another date or what?"

"What" Quistis asked, taken by surprise

Seifer rolled his eyes.

"You don't hear very well, do you?" he said, flicking a strand of hair from his face.

Quistis starred, speechless

"Oh, you heard me fine. A date. Next week. See you then"

And as quickly as he had arrived, Seifer was gone.

* * *

Irvine woke suddenly. His first thought on waking up was that Quistis was no longer there with him. He stirred and glanced at his clock. 11:14pm. 

He sat up suddenly, remembering how Quistis had been sleeping beside him. He rubbed his eyes…he had to find her…

He jumped off his bed, crossed his room and made his way to Quistis' room. He hoped she won't mind him calling so late…but he had to see her…had to ask if she was ok…

Eventually, he reached the corridor with Quistis' room. He walked faster, but then stopped suddenly when he saw a familiar figure ahead…just outside Quistis' room!

Irvine stared…was that…Seifer? What was he doing?

Irvine starred for a few long seconds at Seifer's smirking face before he turned, unseen, on his heel and walked back to his room, his heart sinking with every step.

* * *

Once she was back in her own room, Selphie bounced over to her bed and jumped on it. She was feeling happy right now…Rinoa and Squall…married? Who would think…and Selphie was wedding planner! How super fun!

Selphie lay down, still smiling, when suddenly another thought came to her…Zell

How was Zell going to react to Rinoa, the girl he was in love with, getting married?

She had to go and see him, and talk to him about it…

He was going to be heartbroken, and she couldn't help him…Selphie felt extremely guilty now that she had agreed to help with the wedding…what would Zell say?

It was like Zell agreeing to help plan Irvine's wedding…to another girl besides Selphie!

A thought like that would have usually had a bad effect on Selphie. Her stomach would be stabbed multiple times if she thought that she wasn't going to be with Irvine forever….but now…all she felt was a slight stab…

Then she drifted off to sleep, but Selphie didn't sleep well.

Her dream was about her getting married to Irvine, but then Zell ran in and tried to stop the wedding, but before Selphie could ask why, Irvine suddenly transformed into Seifer, who transformed into Zell, who transformed into Squall and then Selphie got annoyed because she didn't really want to get married anyway…she'd only come here because she wanted to do a little fighting in the training centre…and she didn't even like the dress anyway…

Selphie woke up with a start, turned over, and when she woke up in the morning, she didn't remember the dream at all…

**Ok, thanks everyone for reading. Sorry if it was a bit slow going at times, I kind of wanted this chapter to be a kind of 'break' from all the angst and twisted love triangles I'd written so far. Sorry if the cafeteria conversation went on a bit, I just wanted to have Selphie, Rinoa and Quistis have a gossip in the cafeteria, free from too much depressing subjects. I just wanted a little humour, lighten the mood a bit, and expand on their characters, which I haven't been able to do previously…**

**Ok, I'm rambling on, as usual…please review! Thanks!**

**Selphie Ivy xx**


	11. Unbreakable friendships?

A Twisted Love Story

**Wow…ok, ok I know…it's been ages since I last updated …please don't murder me!!**

**Basically, I've just been wayyyy too busy with stuff lately…but…I'm not giving up on this story! **

**Anyways…even though it's a bit late, I hope you enjoy this chapter and remember the reviews please! :P**

**Thanks everyone! **

**Disclaimer- I don't own it and I will never own it. Obviously.**

Chapter 11

"Awww…Quisty, it's so cute!" Selphie clapped her hands together in excitement as Quistis spun on the spot

"Really?" Quistis asked, looking down at the bridesmaid dress "it's bright orange…"

"Orange is a cute colour!" Selphie cried excitedly

"Umm…let's ask Rinoa…Rinoa…what do you think??"

Rinoa glanced at the bright orange bridesmaid dress

"Umm…does it have to be that colour?" Rinoa asked

"It's cute!" Selphie cried again

"Can't we have like…a more…normal colour?" Quistis asked, turning to Rinoa

Rinoa nodded

"How about these dresses?" she asked, holding up two delicate, pretty bridesmaid dresses"

They were long, and a clean, pure white colour. They had small spaghetti straps and were decorated with small beads and sequins, which looked very delicate and ornate.

"Ohhh…they're pretty!" Selphie exclaimed "let's try those on Quisty!"

"Anything to get out of this…" Quistis muttered

Ten minutes later, and after a lot of tugging and pulling to get Quistis out of the orange dress, which had been refusing to come off ("it's probably cursed" Quistis had moaned, as she desperately tried to escape) Selphie and Quistis were finally in the bridesmaid dresses Rinoa had picked out.

"Now this is more like it!" Quistis exclaimed, spinning in front of the shop mirror

"They're so pretty!" Selphie agreed

"I think those are the dresses!" Rinoa exclaimed, smiling as she observed Quistis and Selphie in the beautiful dresses. "You two agree?"

Selphie and Quistis nodded

"Ok! Let's buy them!" Rinoa said, clapping her hands together in excitement

As the two dresses were being packaged up for the three girls to take away, Quistis turned to Selphie and Rinoa

"Oh, I forgot to say...I have news…about Seifer…"

"Seifer?" Selphie asked, scrunching her face up a little "what about him?"

"Wait…are you dating him?" Rinoa asked, remembering seeing Quistis and Seifer together in the restaurant she and Squall had been in

Quistis smiled coyly

"Maybe…" Quistis replied, and smiled shyly

"Wow…well, we always know you liked him, Quisty" Selphie said, with a cheeky smile

"Yeah…but is he treating you right?" Rinoa asked, raising her eyebrow slightly

"He's being surprisingly sweet…sometimes…I don't know…he can be so confusing…but he said he's going to ask me on another date soon"

Rinoa gave a small laugh

"Unpredictable is Seifer's middle name," she said "but I hope you two have fun on your date…" she trailed off as Quistis' eyes became glazed over with thoughts of Seifer. Rinoa turned to Selphie, and she could tell that she and Selphie were thinking the same thing…

They hoped Seifer didn't break Quistis' heart…

* * *

"Yo, Squall…watsup?"

Zell wasn't used to Squall visiting his room, but Zell opened the door and stood aside to let Squall I, even if it was 10:20am and Zell had been sleeping.

Squall slowly entered. He was there to tell Zell about the wedding, and ask him if he wanted to be best man, although he didn't really know how to tell him…

"Zell…" Squall began pacing backwards and forwards. Zell sat on his bed and watched him, wondering if Squall had finally found out about 'that night' probably not…but Zell still wondered why Squall was doing such frantic pacing.

"Zell…" Squall repeated

"Yes, Squall?" Zell asked. Squall stopped pacing and turned to face Zell.

"Me and Rinoa are getting married" Squall stated bluntly, although Zell saw his face twitch into a small smile.

"Whoa…congratulations, man!" Zell exclaimed, trying to act as though this was news to him.

Squall's face twitched into a slightly bigger smile

"But I also want to ask you about something…Zell…will you be my best man?"

Zell's face erupted into a massive grin

"Really? Me?!" Zell asked, grinning

"Yeah…I mean, I've know you for a long time, and you've become like…"

Squall coughed. He still found it hard to express his emotions at times. Zell was watching with an expectant face.

"like…a best friend…a brother…"

Squall coughed some more, and felt his cheeks flush slightly. Darn it! Why did he keep getting so embarrassed lately?

Zell, too, had gone red.

"Wow, dude…thanks…you're like…you're like my brother too…"

Zell's cheeks burnt. He'd never been good in these kind of situations.

Squall coughed, and the two stood there awkwardly. Finally, Squall spoke up.

"Well…I guess I should go now…" he said awkwardly

"Uhh…sure, but yeah, I'll be your best man! Thanks Squall"

The two exchanged an awkward smile, and Squall opened the door and left, his stomach churning slightly from the embarrassingly self-conscious moment he and Zell had shared. Yet what he had said was true.

Zell was like a brother to him.

After Squall had left, Zell laid down on his bed and stared at the ceiling, feeling a mixture of emotions. He felt slightly guilty, especially since Squall seemed to trust Zell so much…and after the whole incident with Rinoa…

Zell shook his head. He need to give this whole thing with Rinoa closure, he would talk to her later. He also felt quite elated; Squall wanted him-Zell- to be best man! Not Irvine…Zell!

Maybe the best thing was that Zell didn't hurt at all when either Rinoa or Squall had told him they were getting married. He was over Rinoa. He was sure. It had just been a crush. He was finally free.

Smiling to himself, Zell rolled over. Things were finally working out a bit better. He was over Rinoa…Rinoa and Squall were getting married and were happy…maybe even Selphie would cheer up a bit more…maybe she and Irvine could work things out…

Zell's stomach gave a strange flip thinking of Selphie. Trying to ignore it, Zell rolled over again and continued what he had been doing right before Squall had knocked.

Only this time, he slept more peacefully than ever.

* * *

"Wow! What a trip" Selphie exclaimed

"Yeah, I never knew how far it was from the shops to the Garden" Rinoa sighed, wiping her forehead

"You two shouldn't have brought so much then!" Quistis sighed, rolling her eyes but smiling despite herself

"Well, there were some good offers!" Selphie said happily, half walking, half bouncing down the corridors of Balamb Garden.

The trio of girls had arrived back after a long shopping trip. They were tired, but proud of themselves, as they had brought Selphie's and Quistis' bridesmaid dresses, though they'd had no luck finding the bride's dress for Rinoa.

"We'll go again tomorrow, ok?" Rinoa asked as she reached her room "we need to find my dress…we don't have too much time"

Quistis and Selphie agreed, and Rinoa hugged them goodbye. Quistis then wanted to visit the cafeteria to get some food, and Selphie wanted to drop her purchases at her room. Hugging goodbye, they went their separate ways.

When Selphie finally reached her room, she dropped all her bags on the floor and threw herself onto her bed, tired out from the long day.

"Hmmm…I wonder how Irvine is…maybe I should go visit him?" Selphie thought aloud

Selphie felt happier than she had in a long time, and if she was going to talk to Irvine anytime soon, now would be the best time…

She rose from her bed and started walking.

* * *

Irvine found that he had not been doing a lot lately. All he seemed to do lately was sleep, eat and think of Quistis. He didn't even visit the training centre as much as he used to. What was he doing?

Rubbing his eyes, he thought of what he could do.

He couldn't be with Quistis…she loved Irvine…but things weren't working out with Selphie either. He saw her as a friend now. He'd always lover her…but he was no longer 'in love' with her. And he didn't want to lead Selphie on…

Irvine closed his eyes. It felt terrible thinking it…but it had to be done…even if he couldn't be with Quistis…he couldn't stay with Selphie…

He was going to have to break up with Selphie…

**Ok, I know it's been ages, but I'm going to try to get some more chapters out soon…**

**Remember, I love reviewers! And I'm sorry if this chapter seems a little disjointed…I'm a bit out of touch after not writing this for so long…**

**Reviews please! : )**

**Selphie ivy xx**


	12. Honesty

A Twisted Love Story

A Twisted Love Story

**The next chapter is here! Enjoy!**

Chapter 12

Thud, thud, thud, thud

The only sounds Squall could hear as he walked the corridors of Balamb Garden were his own brisk footsteps as he walked to Irvine's room. He reached up and brushed a strand of his hair from his face; why was his hair so darn annoying? Hyne! He was gonna sue his hairdresser if this went on!

Thud, thud, thud, thud

Wait…did he even have a hairdresser?

Thud, thud, thud, thud

He couldn't even remember the last time he had a haircut…

Thud, thud, thud, thud

Maybe he should get Rinoa to cut it for him…

Thud, thud, thud, thud

Maybe not…she might shave it or something…

Thud, thud

Squall stopped. He had been so engrossed in his thoughts that he hadn't even realized he'd arrived at Irvine's door. He raised a hand and gave the door a sharp tap.

Within seconds, the door clicked open and Irvine stood there, his hair down from the usual ponytail. Squall realized he had never really seen Irvine's hair down.

'Hyne' Squall thought 'Irvine has tons of hair…maybe we should go get a haircut together?'

"Uhh…Squall?" Irvine stood there, one hand on his hips, his eyebrow raised slightly, waiting for Squall.

Squall jerked out of his daydream bout hair, and Irvine's face came back into focus. Squall did a small embarrassed cough.

"Sorry…uhh…I have news…" Squall did another cough.

Irvine raised his eyebrow a little higher, but stood aside to let Squall in. Squall entered, slightly awkwardly. He hardly ever visited Irvine's room, and didn't really know what to say.

"So…what's up then?" Irvine said, closing the door and turning to face Squall.

"News…me and Rinoa…we are going to marry…"

"Wow Squall!" Irvine cried out, slapping the top of Squall's arm. Squall would usually have glared if someone else had done this, but Squall had been weakened since Rinoa had entered his life, and he settled for merely smiling weakly at Irvine.

"When you doing it?"

"Soon…"

Irvine gave a slight laugh at Squall's vagueness, and raised his eyebrow again.

"I am invited, right, buddy?"

Squall stiffened slightly at being called 'buddy.' Damnit…why was he so much more open with Zell than he was with Irvine?

"Of course…I'll inform you later. I just thought…you'd want to know…"

Irvine chuckled.

"You're hilarious Squall…you and Rinoa are getting married and you come to tell me, and you act like you're informing me you're getting, like, a new pair of leather pants…c'mon Squall, get excited! You're getting married!"

As Irvine said the word 'married' Squall's stomach did a small flip, and his hand instinctively raised-before he could stop it-to his stomach. As the moment passed, Squall realized how weird this must have looked, and quickly lowered his hand. Irvine was watching carefully.

"You really love her, don't you?"

Squall raised his eyes to met Irvine's, and Squall saw that that Irvine wasn't teasing like he usually was, he was being sincere. Squall blinked.

"Yes…I do…why…why suddenly ask me that?"

"I saw your hand fly to your stomach thinking about her. You got a stomach-flick, as I like to call 'em. Like, I only get those when I really love someone…like… I used to get them a lot when I was around Selphie…"

"Ahhh…" Squall stood awkwardly, not knowing what to say. Irvine's eyes studied him for a few more seconds, before Squall spoke up again.

"I should go…lots to do…"

Irvine nodded, stood up, and opened the door for Squall.

"Congratulations, Squall…" Irvine murmured, in a very un-Irvine like way.

"Thank-you" Squall gave a small nod and stepped out of the door, colliding with a small figure who was just about to enter.

"Ack!" the figure cried, falling to the floor. Squall realized it was Selphie.

"Ohhh…sorry Squally…almost knocked you over there!" Selphie cried, as Squall helped pull her up

"No you didn't…" Squall mumbled, but he just as well have not said anything, as Irvine had poked his head around the door and had cried "Selphie!" in a surprised voice, and Selphie had bounced forward in an attempt to hug him.

Nodding to both of them, Squall turned and left, his footsteps thudding once again along the corridors.

He was all set to return to his train of thought about hair, when, suddenly, something that Irvine had said returned to him.

"I used to get them a lot when I was around Selphie…" he had said. The words "used to" stuck out to Squall…did Irvine no longer love Selphie?

Squall shook his head. He had probably misheard…or misunderstood. And he was hardly 'Mr expert-relationship' himself…so…

Within seconds, he had run his fingers through his hair again, and his thoughts quickly returned to hair.

* * *

In the room that Squall had just left, Irvine felt a very different emotion to what he had experienced when Squall had told him that him and Rinoa were getting married. There, he had felt happiness for the two of them; but now he only felt heartbreak for what he was about to do to Selphie.

Selphie was fussing over him as usual; she loved it when his hair was down, and was taking the opportunity to try and plait it.

"Selphie…" Irvine interrupted, turning to face Selphie.

Selphie's green eyes were round and concerned, looking at Irvine

"Is something wrong, Irvy?"

Irvine lowered his head and shut his eyes, but he could still see Selphie's incredibly bright eyes, however much he tried to block them out.

"No, Selphie…nothing…"

* * *

Rinoa was panicking. Her wedding was approaching fast…and she had NO dress. I mean, sure, she had the bridesmaid dresses for Selphie and Quistis…but what would SHE wear? She was the bride! She had to look amazing!

"Arghh!" Rinoa cried, hitting her forehead with her hand in frustration. What was she going to do?!

Rinoa paced her room, biting her lip and worrying. She only stopped when there was a knock at the door. Crossing her room, she opened it to find Zell. Her stomach gave an uncomfortable turn.

"Zell…?" she asked hesitantly

"Rinoa," Zell nodded to her "may I come in?"

Rinoa bit her lip, but stood aside to let Zell enter. He walked to the centre of her room and turned to face her as she shut her door.

"Rinoa…I think we need to talk…" Zell said, lowering his eyes to the ground.

"Yes…yes we do…"

There was a pause, with both of them feeling awkward.

"Well, first of all…congratulations…you and Squall…"

Rinoa raised her eyes, expecting to see Zell looking upset, but his eyes were focused on her, and he was smiling. A sincere smile.

"Thank-you Zell…that's sweet of you…" Rinoa said, smiling back at him.

The smile was still slightly awkward, but Rinoa felt a little better.

"I'm happy for you and Squall. I'm glad it worked out…"

Rinoa felt terrible, but she knew that she had to ask Zell.

"Zell…you're not…in love with me, are you?" she lowered her heard, too embarrassed to look Zell in the eyes, yet she could still feel his eyes upon her.

"No, Rinoa," Zell paused "ok…look…"

Rinoa raised her head, and their eyes met again. Silently, understanding that they needed to talk, Rinoa walked to her bed, sat down, and gestured towards Zell to follow her. She sat next to her, and continued.

"At one point…maybe…I believed I loved you…but now I understand…"

Rinoa nodded, she had no idea why, but her eyes were slowly filling up with tears at Zell's speech.

"Rinoa…" Zell said softly. Rinoa raised her head.

"I do love you…but…as a friend…I never meant for anything to happen between us…you and Squall are perfect for each other…"

Zell paused. Rinoa felt like she was about to cry.

"It was just a crush that got out of control. I'm so sorry…about that night…"

Rinoa held her tears for a second and her eyes met Zell's.

"The kiss…?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Zell nodded, then silently reached forward to hug Rinoa. She hugged him back, then burst into tears.

"It's ok Rinoa…I'm sorry for messing things up…" Zell whispered, Rinoa's head buried in his shoulder.

"No, no, no Zell…you didn't mess anything up…me and Squall…I'm glad…I'm glad…" Rinoa said, raising her head and looking Zell once again in the eyes.

"Glad?" Zell asked

"Yes…I mean…if it hadn't been for that…I may never have realized how much I love Squall…"

Zell lowered his eyes, and Rinoa was quick to notice this.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…should I not talk about Squall in front of you?" Rinoa felt bad…if Zell still liked her…

"No…honestly, Rinoa, I'm fine with it now…I'm glad for you and Squall, I really am…" Zell smiled at Rinoa, and she smiled back, finally believing him.

Slowly, they both released each other and stood. But Zell had one more question.

"Are you going to…tell Squall…about this?" he asked, lowering his eyes. Even if Zell no longer had romantic feelings for Rinoa, he didn't think Squall would hardly be patting him on the back if he found out what had happened.

Rinoa paused a second. Zell watched her, a worried expression on his face, his friendship with Squall hanging in the balance. Finally, Rinoa spoke.

"I think…what happened…I mean…it's in the past…if you still had these feelings for me, then there could be problems, and I would have to tell him…but…you don't anymore…what happened was merely a mistake…it's not like I even kissed you back…"

Zell nodded, his heart pounding slightly.

"If I had kissed you back, or if you still had feelings for me, then I would say that I had to tell him…but…"

Rinoa sighed

"Is it wrong to conceal it from him?" she asked Zell, her eyes wide.

Zell paused for a second

"I think what you said is true…" Zell bit his lip, thinking. Finally, Rinoa spoke.

"We won't lie about it, if we're asked, we tell the truth…but…if nobody asks, we won't tell…all this was was a silly mistake…"

Zell nodded.

"I agree…"

"Ok, then it's settled, that night never happened, ok?"

Zell nodded, and said some final words

"It's in the past…what matters now is you and Squall…" And giving one last smile to Rinoa, he turned and left her room, saying goodbye to her as he shut the door.

Rinoa smiled and stepped back, so she could lie back on her bed, feeling as though a massive weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

What she didn't know at that moment was that-for her other friends-the problems were only just beginning…

**Reviews please! And I'll get the next one out as soon as possible! Until then…did I mention reviews? :)**

**Selphie Ivy xx**


	13. Perfect Fit

A Twisted Love story

A Twisted Love story

Chapter 13

"I can't stand this searching much longer" Rinoa sighed as the trio of girls investigated yet another shop, with hopes of finding the perfect dress for Rinoa.

"Aww…come on Rinny…we have to find one soon!" Selphie said, her eyes gleaming with hope.

Quistis didn't say anything, she herself had almost given up hope too. They had been searching for almost a week, in pretty much every possible store, and still nothing. The wedding was next Saturday-in a week's time-and Quistis was getting worried. They really needed to find a dress for Rinoa…

"Oh, great…now it's raining…" Rinoa said, biting her lip.

She was right. Storm clouds were swirling above, and light rain had begun to fall.

"Perfect…" Quistis muttered, under her breath.

"Hey…what about that place?" Selphie said, pointing with her finger and doing a little leap, which was obviously what she believed to be good protection from the incoming rain.

Rinoa glanced at where Selphie had pointed. It was simply a small wooden door with a tiny sign above it, singing in the wind. The sign read; "Dressimir's Dresses." The shop appeared to have no windows, in fact, Rinoa wouldn't have even seen there was a shop there if Selphie hadn't pointed it out.

"Dressimir's Dresses?" Quistis said, raising her eyebrow "Selphie…that hardly seems suitable…" And Quistis and Rinoa exchanged a glance.

"It looks kinda…spooky…" Rinoa said. This was true. The door was old fashioned, and the sign was black and red. The whole place had a gothic undertone.

"Well…I'm gonna go look…I don't wanna get wet!" Selphie said, and she spun around and walked to the shop door. Rinoa and Quistis exchanged another glance; they both thought this was a bad idea, but Selphie had already shoved the door open and gone inside.

Quickly, Rinoa and Quistis followed.

The door clanged open as Selphie pushed her way in, yet she was only met with two pairs of stairs; one leading up, one leading down.

"Selphie! Don't run off like that!" Quistis gently scolded Selphie, half joking.

Selphie playfully puffed out her cheeks and stuck her tongue out slightly at her, and Quistis gave a small smile.

As the door shut behind them, the trio stood in almost complete darkness, wondering what to do next. They could still hear the rain drumming outside. The place was eerie.

"Which way?" Selphie whispered, turning to the other two. The three girls looked at each other.

"Let's go up" Quistis said

"I say down" Rinoa said

Selphie looked at the two.

"Going down would be going into the basement-that's creepy!" Selphie said

"Going up would be going into the attic-that's creepier!" Rinoa said

Quistis rolled her eyes.

"Let's just go down, like Rinoa said…"

"Ok…you first…" Selphie said, biting her lip, her eyes wide.

"Fine!" Quistis said, rolling her eyes and approaching the top of the stairs. Quistis had to admit that it looked quite creepy, though she would never tell Selphie or Rinoa that.

She started to walk down, with Selphie and Rinoa following closely.

The twisting stairs went on and on, but eventually Quistis could see light, and when she reached the bottom, she was standing in a fairly large, bright room filled with dresses everywhere. The place looked like a labyrinth of dresses. Behind Quistis, Selphie and Rinoa finally made it to the bottom step and all three girls stared around in awe at the mini-wonderland of dresses. All three girls were thinking the same thing; 'how few people had been here and seen all this?'

"This is…" Selphie started, but before she could finish, a figure dressed all in black swooped down upon them.

"WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU, MY DEARS?" the figure shrieked. All three girls leapt back in surprise.

A woman, around her forties, was stood in front of the trio. She was dressed all in black, and had her jet black hair tied back in a very tight bun. Her eyes were bulging as she focused on the three girls.

"I HAVE MANY WONDERFUL DRESSES!" the woman half screamed. It appeared that she was half deaf.

"Uhh…do you have Bridal dresses?" Rinoa asked timidly.

The women turned to her, and her voice suddenly softened., though her eyes continued to bulge.

"Marriage?!"

Rinoa stared in surprise

"Uhh…yeah…"

"You are getting…MARRIED?!" the woman shrieked again. All three girls jumped. Rinoa nodded quickly, wishing the woman would stop shouting randomly.

"FOLLOW!" the woman commanded, and she turned and started to walk away. Rinoa, Selphie and Quistis exchanged reluctant glances at each other before slowly following.

The woman led them down a few aisles, turning the corner a few times. The place was obviously bigger than it appeared. The woman finally stopped and pointed to an arrangement of about 20 bridal dresses, all hung up neatly.

"THERE! PLEASE DO TRY SOME ON IF YOU WISH!" the woman bellowed, beckoning to a small alcove in the wall which had a screen placed around it, which was obviously used as a changing room. There were even two chairs placed next to it.

"CALL ME IF THERE'S A PROBLEM!" the woman shouted, and then she turned on her heel and disappeared down another aisle.

The trio of girls stood in shock for a few seconds before they moved. Finally, Quistis spoke.

"I guess we should look through these, whilst we're here…" she turned to Rinoa, and could see that Rinoa wasn't too happy about this arrangement.

"Well," Quistis said, lowering her voice "We can't just leave now we got here…even if…" Quistis stopped before she finished her sentence, but the other two knew what she meant.

"Well, let's just go quickly then!" Selphie said, bouncing forward and tugging a few dresses out.

Rinoa and Quistis nodded and moved in to look too. They looked at every dress there, but in the end, they could only find a few that would be suitable for Rinoa to wear.

"Should I even bother trying them on?" Rinoa asked sadly. None of the dresses had seemed suitable. She was looking for something perfect. Quistis shrugged.

"It's probably a good idea…just in case, but be quick, ok?"

Rinoa nodded, and disappeared into the alcove, pulling the screen to cover her. Selphie and Quistis took a seat each and waited.

Four minutes later, Rinoa emerged in dress number one.

"Like it?" Quistis asked, but she didn't need to ask; the answer was clear, as the dress made Rinoa look about 3 sizes bigger than her slender figure really was.

"Look at my butt!" Rinoa hissed "I'm not usually this big!"

Selphie giggled but managed to contain herself by stuffing her fist in her mouth.

"Uhhh…try on the next one" Quistis said quickly, and Rinoa disappeared again.

Quistis and Selphie waited. And waited. And waited. After 10 minutes, Quistis spoke.

"Rinoa…are you ok?"

"Uhhh…no…I got stuck…I kinda need help…" Rinoa sounded embarrassed. Quistis and Selphie exchanged a glance.

"I'll go help her…" Quistis said, and Selphie nodded.

Quistis pulled back the screen and found Rinoa had gotten herself completely stuck trying to squeeze into a dress about two sizes too small for her.

"It looked the right size on the hanger" Rinoa grumbled as Quistis tried to help her out. After a minute of tugging and pushing and Rinoa squeezing in, they called in Selphie to help too.

"Is it shrinking or something?!" Rinoa had cried as Quistis and Selphie desperately tried to rescue her from the dress.

Finally, working together, Quistis and Selphie tugged Rinoa out of the dress. Rinoa glared at it with disdain.

"Awww…c'mon Rinny…it didn't look that bad!" Selphie said, her eyes wide.

"No, no…it was a great dress…apart from the fact it almost killed me!" Rinoa said sarcastically. Selphie stifled a giggle.

"Why don't you try on the last one?" Quistis suggested, glancing at her watch. She had no idea how long they'd been down here, but it felt like ages.

"Yeah, ok…if I'm not out in ten minutes, assume this dress is even tighter and I died!" Rinoa said, rolling her eyes and disappearing behind the screen again.

Five minutes later, Selphie and Quistis heard a gasp from behind the screen.

"Rinoa?" Quistis asked anxiously, exchanging a worried glance with Selphie.

"Rinny…are you ok?" Selphie asked.

"Yes, I'm ok" Rinoa said from behind the screen "I think I just found the dress!" She sounded excited.

Rinoa pulled back the screen. She was stood in the last wedding gown, and she looked beautiful. The dress was floor length, and an elegant ivory colour. It was strapless, with a sweetheart neckline, and the skirt was netted, and flowed out around Rinoa's legs. There were small sequin details on the front of the dress, and silver embroidery in detailed flowers.

"Wow!" Selphie exclaimed

"It fits you perfectly!" Quistis gasped, and she was right. It fitted to Rinoa perfectly, showing off Rinoa's slim figure, and yet it wasn't too tight.

"It's like it's made for you!" Selphie said, clapping her hands excitedly and jumping up and down on the spot.

Rinoa beamed.

Ten minutes later, Rinoa had changed again and the three girls set out to find the woman to pay. Carrying the dress carefully in her arms, Rinoa jumped when the woman suddenly swooped down upon them.

"YOU FOUND ONE, HMM??"

"ye…yes…" Rinoa said, startled "and I'd like to pay for it now…"

The woman took the dress from Rinoa and walked among the aisles once again to find the till. The three girls followed. As the woman took Rinoa's money and wrapped up the dress safely, she made a sudden, surprising announcement; although the most surprising thing was that she whispered instead of shouted.

"This dress…it is beautiful…" The woman looked up at Rinoa "And you are beautiful too…can you do me a favour?"

Rinoa stared.

"Uhh…sure…I guess…"

"On your wedding day, please be sure to take lots of photos…and…can you send one to me please? So…so I know what the dress I created myself looks like on…?"

Rinoa gave a little gasp.

"You made that dress all by yourself?"

The woman nodded, and handed Rinoa the wrapped up dress.

"Have a lovely day, Rinoa…"

"Th-thankyou…" Rinoa stuttered, wondering how the woman knew her name, but before she had time to ask, Quistis and Selphie were already walking back towards the stairs. With a last smile to the woman, Rinoa turned and followed them. As they reached the stairs and began to climb them, Quistis whispered to the other two.

"I guess she could be normal after all…"

"DO COME BACK SOON, M'DEARS!" the woman screeched from the other side of the shop.

Quistis sighed.

"or maybe not…"

Selphie gave a small giggle, and Rinoa smiled; the first true smile she had felt for days.

After all, she had a good reason to now…

**Hmmm, this chapter was longer than I planned, but I hope you enjoyed it! I don't know if having the woman in it was a good idea, so give me feedback on if you liked her/disliked her and why and that :) And sorry if anyone hated having just the three girls as the main characters…I was planning more stuff, focused away from them, but this chapter filled up easily, so yeah…I hope nobody minded! :) **

**I'll update soon if you keep reviewing!**

**Selphie Ivy xx**


	14. One Question

A Twisted Love Story

A Twisted Love Story

Chapter 14

"Wow…I'm soaked!" Rinoa cried.

The trio of girls were walking back through the halls of Balamb Garden together. They had managed to arrive back safely, though another downpour of rain had soaked them in the last ten minutes as they made their way back.

"It's freezing!" Selphie exclaimed, shivering.

"Let's get back to our rooms" Quistis suggested.

"Hey…do you wanna see my new dress on again…in a less creepy environment?" Rinoa asked "we could go back to my room..."

"Yeah…but…I have a date" Quistis said quietly, feeling slightly embarrassed.

Selphie and Rinoa immediately spun round and stared at her.

"With Seifer?!" Selphie said, her mouth open.

"Shhhhh!" Quistis hissed, looking around. Selphie shook her head.

"I told you I had a date with him before!" Quistis said, lowering her voice even though nobody was around.

"Yeah…but like…ohh…I don't know…" Selphie said, frowning slightly

"Isn't it a bit late in the evening for a date now?" Rinoa asked, trying to keep her voice neutral. The time was 6:42 in the evening.

" No…we're meeting at 8:00pm at this cute little restaurant downtown" Quistis said, smiling despite herself.

Selphie and Rinoa exchanged a glance. Quistis didn't notice this and continued;

"I mean, that's just enough time for me to get back in, shower, change…you know nothing takes me too long…"

"Yeah, I guess…" Rinoa trailed off "Well…I guess we'll talk to you later then…" They had reached Quistis' room already. Quistis nodded and hugged the two girls goodbye.

"Have a good date…" Selphie said, though she still looked slightly anxious. Quistis smiled at her and even ruffled her hair; something she had never done before.

"Don't worry, Selph…I'll be fine…have a good evening with Rinoa…" and still smiling, she fitted her key into her door, pushed it open and disappeared inside. Rinoa and Selphie continued along the corridor.

"Do you want to come back to my room?" Rinoa asked Selphie. Selphie smiled.

"Sure, Rin! We could also go for a late dinner…cuz we haven't had anything to eat since lunch…"

Rinoa smiled too…

"Yeah, Selph…let's do that!" And the pair linked arms and continued walking back to Rinoa's room, Rinoa linking arms with Selphie with one arm and holding her beautiful new bridal dress under the other.

* * *

"Yo! Irvine!"

Irvine spun on the spot and saw Zell jogging over to him. Irvine readjusted his gun and gave Zell a grin as Zell caught up to him.

"How ya doin', Zell? Out a bit late training, huh?"

Irvine had come to the training centre to let off a bit of steam, and from Zell's gloves and fighting attire; Irvine guessed Zell had come to do the same.

"Ahh…just came to do a little training…and it's not too late…it's only 6:40pm!" Zell did a few punches into thin air to show his enthusiasm. Irvine laughed.

"6:42 to be precise…but hey…wanna train together?" he asked, as Zell finally stopped shadow-punching.

"Sure! As long as you think you can keep up with me…Kinneas!" Zell said, doing a few more punches and running off into the distance, grinning back at Irvine. Irvine rolled his eyes and calmly followed the hyperactive Zell, who was now (unsuccessfully) trying to karate-chop a rock.

One hour later, the two were worn out but very pleased with themselves. They had battled almost constantly, only stopping when they had to go and find some more monsters to battle.

"Hey…you're not too bad, Irvine" Zell said, turning to Irvine and grinning to try to tease him.

"Neither are you…when you're not tripping over little girl' jump-ropes" Irvine said, unable to resist the urge to tease Zell back. Zell's mouth widened.

"That was like…13 years ago!" Zell cried indignantly, his mouth hanging open.

"It was hilarious, though…" Irvine said, sniggering

"Watch it you…you…cowboy lover boy!" Zell cried, crossing his arms huffily and sulking.

"Cowboy lover boy?" Irvine repeated, raising his eyebrow. Then he turned to Zell and burst out laughing. Zell looked sulky for a few more seconds before he too couldn't control himself and started laughing too. The pair walked along the corridors of Balamb Garden, laughing really loudly then trying to control their laughter, as it was probably disturbing people at this time in the evening; after all, it was now coming up to 8pm, yet whenever they tried to stop they just laughed more.

"Hey, Zell…" Irvine said once they had finally both recovered from their laughing fits.

"Do you think it's possible to be in love with two people at once?"

Zell turned to Irvine in confusion, wondering why he had asked such a random question, and also why he had asked it to Zell; Zell was hardly known as being a great advice-giver…

"Umm…I dunno…" Zell said, scratching the back of his head.

The pair fell silent; the earlier happy mood forgotten. Zell knew Irvine was thinking about something…but what?

"Why did you ask?" Zell questioned Irvine.

"Oh…just wondering what ya thought, y'know?" Irvine said, attempting to force a smile, but even Zell wasn't fooled.

"Something up with you and Selphie?" Zell asked, trying to sound casual, though he could suddenly feel his heartbeat faster. Trying to ignore it, Zell turned to watch Irvine's face, but it was obvious Irvine was trying to keep a straight face.

"Oh…no, no…me and Selphie are fine…yeah…I was just wondering…and like…yeah…we're fine…"

Zell may not know Irvine quite as well as he knew some of his other friends, but he knew one thing right now….

Irvine was not telling the whole truth.

* * *

The moment Quistis got into her room and shut her door, she considered what to do next. She had considered asking for Rinoa's and Selphie's help in getting ready, but both had seemed reluctant when she even mentioned she was going to be going on a date with Seifer, and she didn't want to pull them away from going to see Rinoa's dress on again, and then it was likely they would go have a late dinner together and Quistis didn't want them to be forced into helping her; she was sure they wouldn't mind helping if she had asked…but neither seemed too keen on Seifer…no…it was better this way…

She turned on the shower, took off all her wet clothes and hung them over a radiator to allow them to dry. She then stepped in the shower, and quickly started to wash her hair. She would need to hurry…it was 6:45 now and she had to get going at 7:30 if she wanted to make it to the restaurant in time…

She stepped out of the shower and quickly dried off. The shower had warmed her up immensely after the cold weather outside. She picked out two nice outfits…one was a black mini-dress with sheer tights and small kitten-heeled shoes, and the other was her favorite pair of fitted black trousers with a delicate and pretty white top which had detailed and pretty embroidery over parts of it. Quistis laid them both out; neither seemed like completely appropriate options but she didn't have a lot of choice, and she was running out of time.

Quistis bit her lip, and then picked up the trouser and top option and changed into it. She looked at herself in the mirror. She wasn't entirely happy with the outfit- she would have preferred more time to think about what to wear more, but she had none…

She quickly found a cute clutch bag and a cute pair of small heels to complete her outfit. She also dried her hair and styled it; she almost left it down, but decided against it. She wanted her hair up, but decided that her normal tight ponytail or bun she usually wore might be too formal, and so tied her hair back loosely; allowing small strands to fall, framing her strikingly beautiful face.

She then finished, applying a little mascara and foundation and throwing a brush, her key, her purse, a mirror, and her makeup in her bag. She also threw in a small notepad and pencil set that she always carried with her. She had needed it on numerous occasions before and took it everywhere; even on a date.

She then left, locking the door behind her. The second she stepped out of the door she glanced at her watch. It was 7:24. She had been quick, like she usually was getting ready. She bit her lip, not wanting to set off too early; she had already allowed extra time to get to the restaurant. She did think about visiting Selphie and Rinoa, but then she remembered how Irvine had helped prepare her for her date last time…would he like this outfit? To be honest...she really needed a second opinion...and maybe a friend to wish her luck just before she set off...

Quistis bit her lip, debating whether to go or not. Irvine's room was closer than Rinoa's too…

She paused for a few more seconds before turning and setting off in the direction of Irvine's room. Walking quickly, she reached it in about four minutes and knocked.

No reply.

Quistis knocked again, and then slowly pressed her ear to the door, listening for sounds from inside, but she heard nothing. Quistis glanced at her watch. Irvine was probably at dinner, or at the training centre. Reaching into her bag, Quistis pulled out her notepad and pencil, scribbling a note to Irvine. It read;

'Dropped by to see how you were, but you weren't in. I'm going on a date with Seifer, so I'll talk to you later…I'm sure you'd like what I was wearing, even though you weren't there to help me pick it out this time! Love, Quistis xxx'

She quickly slipped the paper under the door and turned, hurrying off to meet Seifer, unaware that the evening would be an evening that would effect not only her, but change the lives of her and her friends forever…

**Well, there's another chapter done…I hope you enjoyed it! I'll be working as quickly as I can to get the next few chapters out quickly, but until then…please review! I seem to be getting fewer reviews lately…yet I'm sure I don't have like, three readers (or maybe I have haha :P) soooo if you're reading this and haven't bothered reviewing yet…PLEASE DO!! I appreciate any feedback I get :) I'll also be mentioning and thanking everyone who has reviewed since chapter 10 next chapter…so leave reviews if you've been reading so I can say thanks! And thankyou to my loyal readers who review every chapter! **

**Look out for the next part soon!**

**Selphie Ivy xx**


	15. Arrangements

A Twisted Love Story

**Ok, I said I would thank everyone who has taken their time to read and review so far every 5 chapters…so here it is! :**

**Thank-you (in no particular order, except the dates from when you all reviewed :D) Sidalee, blackdeathmessenger, Relyob & jensonlau (wow…I really need more readers D: haha!) I'd also like to say a special thanks to my boyfriend for supporting me writing this & encouraging me to keep going on this story :)**

**Anyways everyone…enjoy! :)**

Chapter 15

"Rin! Open up! I'm back!" Selphie's enthusiastic shouts came from outside Rinoa's door. Rinoa had been sat drying her hair after a quick shower and waiting for Selphie to arrive, for when the two girls had reached Rinoa's room, they had both realized how wet they still were from the rain outside, and so Selphie had rushed back to her room to shower whilst Rinoa stayed in her room to hang the dress up, shower and change. This also worked to their advantage as Selphie had been able to collect her bridesmaid dress whilst she went back to her room; they would try both dresses on together.

"Coming, Selph…" Rinoa crossed the room and opened her door. Selphie was stood there, holding her dress. Her hair was still slightly wet from the shower she must have just had, and from the looks of it, her hair was already starting to curl up at the corners in Selphie's usual hairstyle.

Rinoa stood to let her in and Selphie dumped herself down on Rinoa's bed.

"Sorry I took so long…" Selphie said. It was now 7:10, but Rinoa thought they were doing well.

"Don't worry, Selph…the cafeteria opens late anyways…" Selphie nodded and smiled.

"Ok…let's get into our dresses!"

They took it in turns, using Rinoa's folding screen (which-coincidentally-was similar to the one in 'Dressimir's Dresses') to change behind. They also had to decide on accessories, and spent a while trying on a range of different jewelry that Rinoa owned and Selphie had brought along, trying on a range of different things; from Rinoa's dainty emerald necklace she never wore, to Selphie's massive and chunky wooden necklace ("I have no idea where that came from!" Selphie had insisted, but they still tried it on for a laugh.)

"Hey! I know!" Selphie was getting hyper; Rinoa had a few soda drinks stored in her room which she and Selphie were now enjoying. However, anyone who knew Selphie at all knew that giving Selphie having sugar was not a good idea if you wanted her to stay calm; hence, she was getting a little overexcited.

"Hmm…Selph?" Rinoa was calmer than Selphie, though the fizzy drinks were also having an effect on her too; she and Selphie had had, a moment ago, had a laughing fit because Selphie couldn't stand up in a pair of shoes Rinoa had had. The moment would have been funny in a sober-from-sugar mood; but the effects of sugar on the pair of girls had made the situation ten times funnier than it was, and they had collapsed on the bed, their stomachs hurting from laughter. Thankfully, this was five minutes ago, and all that remained from that moment now was a few stifled giggles as the two girls continued sipping their fizzy drinks and trying things on.

"We should do our make-up too!" Selphie said, bouncing up and down on the spot.

"Yeah! Let's do that!" Rinoa agreed, much more enthusiastically than she may have in a normal mood, and she tugged out her make-up drawer and started to arrange the make-up on her dressing table.

Selphie swooped down and they both started picking out make-up.

"What colour eye shadow should I wear?" Rinoa questioned.

"Hmm…" Selphie said, biting her lip "how about a creamy…uhhh…cream colour?" Rinoa glanced at Selphie and they both started laughing again.

"Ok, ok…" Rinoa said, grabbing her pale cream-coloured eye shadow and starting to apply it "you want any make-up, Selph?" Selphie giggled.

"Would eyeliner be too much?"

"Hmm…" Rinoa thought "well, as long as you don't overdo it, a little will look nice!"

Selphie smiled.

"We're going light on make-up though, right? Just a little foundation, eyeliner, eye shadow…"

"Don't forget the lip stuff!" Rinoa exclaimed, laughing

"Oh yeah…well, you'll want it if you're gonna kissy kissy Squally!" Selphie said, making exaggerated kissing faces.

"Hey!" Rinoa said, pretending to be offended then laughing.

"Maybe you should choose like, a really sticky lip-gloss…sooo…when Squally kisses you, you two will be stuck together at the lips!" Selphie said, roaring with laughter then collapsing back on Rinoa's bed.

"Hmmm…good idea Selph…" Rinoa said, in a fake serious voice. Selphie stopped laughing and glanced at Rinoa's face. Rinoa couldn't hold it for much longer; she burst out laughing and Selphie did too.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Rinoa called, still giggling slightly.

"It's Squall…can I come in?"

Rinoa and Selphie turned to each other with horrified expressions, looking down at the bridal wear they had on.

"Rinoa?" Squall called from outside the door.

"Uhhh…one sec…nonono…you…umm…you can't come in!" Rinoa cried, almost tripping over because she stood so fast.

"What's wrong?" Squall called through the door "Rinoa…are you ok?" And then he slowly started to turn the door handle.

"No!" Rinoa and Selphie cried simultaneously and Selphie threw herself at the door just as Squall had started to slowly open it, causing it to slam shut again.

"What was that?!" Squall called from outside the door "Selphie…is that you?"

"Yes!" Rinoa cried back, as though she and Squall were shouting to each other from a long distance "she's here with me…we're…we're trying on wedding dresses…"

There was a pause.

"Ahh…ok…I'll leave you alone then…I was just gonna tell you…we're all set for the wedding, ok?"

Rinoa nodded, then remembered Squall couldn't see her.

"Ok…thanks Squall"

"I'll pick you up for breakfast tomorrow, ok?" Squall called.

"That'll be great" Rinoa smiled with a dreamy expression "Bye Squally…I love you!"

"I love you too Rinoa. Bye Selphie"

"Bye Squally!" Selphie called. Squall's footsteps were then hurt walking away from Rinoa's room.

"Phew…that was close!" Rinoa exclaimed, sitting down on her bed.

"Yeah," Selphie said, sitting down beside her "hey…I'm pretty hungry now…wanna go get something to eat?"

Rinoa glanced at her bedside clock.

"Sure…the cafeteria is open late…let's go!"

And slipping behind the screen again, Selphie began to undress.

* * *

Quistis drummed her fingers against the table. Usually, Quistis found this was rather an annoying habit when others did it; yet she couldn't stop herself. She was starting to get anxious.

Where was Seifer?

She furrowed her brows slightly and glanced at the time. He was twenty five minutes late…if he was coming at all…

Quistis shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. He was coming, of course…he would arrive any second now, panting for breath and apologizing for being late…he of course would have some random excuse. But Quistis wouldn't care, because he was there and that's all that mattered, whether he was late or not.

Quistis glanced out the window-she had a window seat. It was dark outside and small patters of rain had started to fall. People were milling around in a hurry outside, their heads down, trying to use umbrellas to defend themselves against the on-coming rain. Quistis watched them for a while, but gained little enthusiasm from her mindless people-watching.

Seifer was not here, and that's all she really cared about right now…

* * *

Irvine slipped his key into his door lock and pushed it open. He placed his rifle down by the side, and then threw his hat and long coat onto his bed.

He didn't see the note at first, but after a few seconds he saw and bent down to scoop it up. He read Quistis' note once, and then sat down and reread it, no less than three times.

An overwhelming urge gripped him. He wanted to go to that restaurant, right now…

Irvine fell back on his bed and closed his eyes, battling himself. He felt useless, sat there whilst Quistis was on a date with Seifer.

Maybe if he showered, everything would disappear…

But before he started to run the shower or even get undressed, he lay there, in bed, for a few moments.

And in those few moments he thought of two things; Quistis-predictably-but also how he, Irvine, could do nothing to win her heart, and how she was going to-unknowingly-break his.

**Reviews please! I won't work on this anymore until I get some! haha :P**


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